This Week in History

1956 Archive

DERBY - Six babies are born on New
Year's Day at Griffin Hospital. The first was to a Derby couple, at 10:17 AM.

ANSONIA - Sadly, the New Year begins
with a murder at 9:25 AM, when a 38 year old man kills his 36 year old roommate
after a bad word is said following an all night drinking party with friends. The
murderer is almost immediately arrested.

SEYMOUR - Things start of pretty
violently in this town, too, after a car crashes into the side of the Germania
House hotel. The car contains a Second Streetman who was stabbed. Although he
is in critical condition, he is eventually released from Griffin Hospital on
January 11, having never revealed who attacked him.

SEYMOUR - The new organ at the First
Congregational Church plays for the first time during Sunday service. The old
one was destroyed in the August flood.

SHELTON - A nighttime blaze destroys
a 3rd floor apartment on River Road.

January 2

SHELTON - A 14 year old Derby boy is
badly burned in a freak accident, when flames shoot up through a manhole cover
on Bridge Street between the two bridges. Apparently leaking gas ignited just
has he was passing by.

January 4

SEYMOUR - The Army Corps of Engineers
approves the replacement of the Broad Street Bridge, and the complete removal of
the island in the middle of it. The island is a choke point for flood waters.

January 5

The Naugatuck Valley Flood Control
Committee has its first meeting at the Naugatuck YMCA. One of its first
recommendations is to have a regional flood control system in place by March.

ANSONIA - A conceptual drawing of a
new five-store building that will be built on the northwest corner of East Main
and Bridge Street appears in the Sentinel.

SHELTON - The Army Corps of Engineers
inspects the Far Mill River above the Huntington Street bridge, and Burying
Ground Brook from B. F. Goodrich to the mouth at the Housatonic River. Finds a
significant silt situation at both caused by the previous year's floods - thinks
Burying Ground Brook will qualify for Federal assistance.

SHELTON - W. R. Todd resigns as Vice
President and Treasurer of the B. F. Goodrich Sponge Rubber Products Division.
Mr. Todd had been with the company since it was founded as the Sponge Rubber
Products Company in 1923, and continued after it was acquired by B. F. Goodrich
in 1954.

January 6

DERBY - Silt pushed down the rivers
by the floods has formed a new island below O'Sullivan's Island, that must be
removed.

ANSONIA - The City has 3 Maple Street
Bridge replacement proposals: 1) A long bridge with its east end on East Main
Street, with stair access from Main Street only. Main and East Main Streets
would be made one-way streets in opposite directions. 2) Demolish part of the
Gardella Building that still stands on Main and Maple Streets for a new, wider
four-lane bridge. 3) Build a new bridge of the same width, but with a sidewalk
on only one side, providing better vehicular access. The Board of Public Works
likes the second option, calling for a four-lane truss bridge with sidewalks on
both sides. They also recommend widening Main Street three feet by removing part
of the sidewalk, and eliminating a sharp bend in the river above the destroyed
Maple Street Bridge. The Board also accepts a proposal for 272 new single homes
with accompanying streets.

SEYMOUR - Dredging of silt from the
river around Broad Street Bridge begins. Silt and debris are being deposited in
the playground across from the Seymour Congregational Church.

Sunday, January 8, 1956

SEYMOUR - Kostas Klarides dies at 276
Bank Street. A Greek immigrant from Asia Minor, he is proprietor of Klarides
Supermarket and Appliance Store, one of Seymour's largest retail stores.

SHELTON - The police are called to
transport an injured William Street woman from her home, but the police car
can't get up Wheeler St. hill due to freezing rain. Seven police officers and
Good Samaritans carry her on a chair to the waiting police car on top of the
hill. One supernumerary officer falls and injures his head. Both are treated at
Griffin Hospital.

January 9

DERBY - Birmingham National Bank
announces it gave $344,441 to 45 customers for flood rehabilitation loans in
1955.

ANSONIA - Mayor Sheasby forwards a
petition from Westfield Avenue residents to the State Highway Commissioner. The
petition demands that residents should not be cut off by the new Ansonia-Derby
expressway (now Route 8) under construction. If this occurs, their only egress
will be onto Division Street.

SHELTON - A 3-room trailer on George
Street occupied by a female Shelton High student is destroyed by an accidental
fire while she is in school.

January 10

ANSONIA - Residents interested in
forming a new fire company in the rapidly growing Hilltop are meet at an Arbor
Terrace home. This is the very first step in what will eventually evolve into
today's Hilltop Hose Company #5.

SHELTON - Smoky fire in the Tisi
Building basement on Howe Avenue.

January 11

SEYMOUR - The State announces that
the Broad Street Bridge is one of the first flood-damaged bridges it wishes to
reconstruct.

DERBY - The Board of Aldermen Street
Committee tells a developer that he will receive no more new permits until
Sentinel Hill Road is restored. The road is extremely broken and rutted, barely
passable, due to the laying of sewers to new housing developments.

January 12

ANSONIA - The City asks the Army
Corps of Engineers to extend its silt dredging of the Naugatuck River down to
the Derby line at Division Street.

ANSONIA - The Mayor's Flood Disaster
Fund splits $17,382.64 among five institutions whose buildings were damaged by
the floods. They are the Beth El synagogue, Holy Rosary Church, Star of
Bethlehem Church, Clinton AME Zion Church, and the Salvation Army.

ANSONIA - Jack and Ann Henry, who
operated well known Dutch Door Inn that was obliterated by the August Flood at 7
Broad Street in Seymour, open a new establishment called Marrone's at 41-45
Bridge Street in this City.

January 13

ANSONIA - Friday the thirteenth
proves unlucky for eleven who were arrested in coordinated raids at six
addresses by the State and Ansonia Police Departments. The charges are for an
illegal gambling racket.

January 14

DERBY - Sanford, Florida, selects a
site for a new library and museum dedicated to its founder, Henry Shelton
Sanford of Derby, in Fort Mellon Park.

Monday, January 16, 1956

ANSONIA - The Board of Education
unanimously approves an Ansonia High School senior class request to wear maroon
and white gowns instead of what was up to that time the traditional gray at
their graduation.

SHELTON - A 36" water main laid in
1916, that connects Means Brook reservoir with Trap Falls bursts at Huntington
Street and Buddington Road, sending a geyser of water shooting 10 feet into the
air. The water rushes down Buddington Street hill, flooding the area.

SHELTON - A fire guts a new 3-room
house on Far Mill Road, critically injuring an 18-year old bride of three
months. She's rescued by her 20-year old husband.

January 17

The season's 3rd snowstorm blankets
area with 3" of moist snow.

In terms of per pupil spending, of
the 169 towns in Connecticut, Derby ranks 36, Ansonia 43, Shelton 100, Oxford
124, with Seymour trailing at 162.

DERBY - Derby native Bob Skoronski, a
Derby High School graduate whose parents still reside on Talmadge Street,
co-captain of the University of Indiana football team, is picked up as a 5th
round draft pick by the Green Bay Packers.

SEYMOUR - Second Selectmen Raymond
Sponheimer resigns as town road foreman, a position he has held since 1921. He
later cites lack of cooperation from the Seymour Police Department as his
reason, a charge vehemently denied by Police Commissioner Charles F. Clark. The
argument is played out for a couple days in the newspaper.

January 18

DERBY - The Sentinel has a
nice picture of a double ripper sled loaded with 1 adult and many children about
to go down Eighth Street hill. Like the other Valley towns at the time, Derby
sponsors "supervised sledding" down certain hills. Mayor Dirienzo was one of the
supervisors overseeing Eighth Street hill that day.

ANSONIA - The Army Corps of Engineers
cautions that further dredging of the Naugatuck River beyond that already
authorized in Ansonia will increase tidal effects along the river.

January 19

ANSONIA - The City is assured by the
State Tax Commissioner that it will receive $48,469.47 reimbursement to cover
losses to its Grand List in the 1955 Floods.

SEYMOUR - Fire damages recently
renovated offices, which had only been open one week, on the third floor
of Kerite's office building.

January 21

SEYMOUR - An Ansonia man is pinned by
the head under his car when it overturned in a scary accident on South Main
Street. He is saved when about 20 men stop and immediately push the car off him.
Later in day he's listed in fair condition at Griffin Hospital.

SEYMOUR - A two hour closed session
between the Boards of Selectmen and Police Commissioners results in Second
Selectman Raymond Sponheimer withdrawing charges of mismanagement in the Seymour
Police Department. The police, in turn, admit error in not telling him of the
condition of Maple Street. and Washington Avenue. The First Selectman announces
that Mr. Sponheimer will not be rehired as the town's road foreman, a position
held since 1921 before resigning in protest earlier in the week, saying he was
not fired since he quit.

Monday, January 23, 1956

SHELTON - A short circuit at Driscoll
Wire Company on Canal Street causes several hundred dollars damage and idles the
plant for day. The short travels to the Star Pin Company, where it causes minor
damage there and halts productivity for an hour.

January 24

ANSONIA - 65.8% of Ansonia residents
make over $4000, which much higher than the 51.1% national and 55.7% New England
averages. Of these residents, 32.4% of them are making over $6000, which is
quite well by 1956 standards.

ANSONIA - The Sentinel
releases a "Flood Book", which is full of pictures from the August and October
1955 floods. The books become a popular keepsake, many of them still retained to
this day.

SHELTON - One of the lateral girders
on theViaduct Bridge, which crosses the canal on Bridge Street, is struck by a
crane on a truck. The girder is ripped off on one side, causing it to lean into
traffic. Traffic flow is now limited to one lane until the problem is fixed.

January 25

DERBY - The town will be reimbursed
$3,847.99 for losses to its Grand List from the 1955 floods.

January 26

DERBY - A 24-hour 'Round the Clock'
sale starts at the Derby Radio Centre on 298 Main Street. Incredible deals are
announced periodically, such as a washing machine sold with a 1946 Ford thrown
in for free. The Police Department is called to maintain order due to the large
crowds.

SEYMOUR - The Wall Street Journal
reports the Gruen Watch Company of Cincinnati is trying to acquire the Watermen
Pen Company.

SHELTON - The Board of Aldermen votes
to change the zoning on the 18 acre Petremont property on River Road from CB-3
to IB-1. This is to accommodate SO&C Division of United Shoe Machinery of
Ansonia, who wants to build a plant there. It is unclear if the firm is
completely relocating there, or simply adding another plant. The property was a
partially worked, undeveloped gravel pit in 1956.

January 27

It is announced that despite 2
floods, Ansonia's gross taxable retail sales went up 18.45% in 1955. Derby's
went up 14%, and Seymour is up 17.94%.

ANSONIA - Responding to repeated
queries about SO&C's future in Ansonia, after yesterday's announcement a new
plant will be built in Shelton, the firm's manager denies the Flood of 1955 was
the reason. He says the firm had been looking to expand its manufacturing plant
for some time, and again says no decision has been made regarding the future of
the Main Street Ansonia plant.

ANSONIA - The Main Package Store, on
576 Main Street, is robbed by three men at gunpoint. A total of $98 and 4
bottles of whisky are taken. An APB is put out - and Milford Police arrest the
trio at a Post Road gas station. The suspects are brought back to Ansonia where
the package store clerk identifies them.

SEYMOUR - The President of Watermen
Pen Company in Seymour confirms that negotiations are underway to sell the firm
to the Gruen Watch Company.

DERBY - The Naugatuck River used to
have two long islands between Division Street and East Derby bridges, which
formed two channels. The east channel mostly disappeared after 1955 floods, the
water flowed swiftly into the west channel. Now the B. N. Beard Company, working
on an Army Corps of Engineers contract, has built a causeway, diverting the
river out of the west channel, and into the east channel, where it will stay
permanently.

January 28

ANSONIA - The City's Disaster
Coordinator, Timothy Quinn, resigns. He states the physical and financial
recovery of Ansonia is at the point that he feels such a post is no longer
needed. Mr. Quinn was appointed to this special position right after the August
flood last year.

SEYMOUR - It is announced neither the
Army Corps of Engineers or the State of Connecticut plan to erect a temporary
bridge or footbridge during the replacement of the Broad Street Bridge in
Seymour.

DERBY - The pastor of the Derby
Methodist Church sends a strongly worded letter protesting the upcoming rental
of the New Irving School gymnasium to the Polish Falcons Ladies Auxiliary, on
the grounds that alcohol will be served.

DERBY - The Utica Wire Corp. on
Hawkins Street is warned by the city to reduce noise emissions, after numerous
complaints from neighboring residents.

January 31

ANSONIA - The Chairman of the Ansonia
Planning Commission says a specific plan for redeveloping the City is still
about a year away. He also states the City still wants a new 4 lane Maple Street
Bridge.

February

Wednesday, February 1, 1956

ANSONIA - 38 merchants are
participating in the first Ansonia Dollar Days sale since the Flood.

ANSONIA - The Clinton AME Zion Church
receives $1800 from the Connecticut Council of Churches, to help restore it from
the devastating damage from 1955 floods. Repairs from the August flood were just
about complete when the October flood did even worse damage. The church also
lost substantial income when 28 of it's families, a full 25% of its total
members, lost their homes in the August flood, and were relocated to emergency
housing in Bridgeport or New Haven.

ANSONIA - Mayor Sheasby meets with
the State Highway Department, regarding a proposed pedestrian tunnel under the
new Route 8 expressway from West Street.

SEYMOUR - The Seymour Redevelopment
Agency's plans to redevelop the Derby Avenue and Second Street areas are
approved at a special town meeting.

SHELTON - Mr. & Mrs. John Gill of
Highland Avenue win $200 in the question portion on the CBS-TV program Love
Story.

February 2

Local groundhogs do not see their
shadow, on account of the gray skies caused by snow and rain.

ANSONIA - The American Brass Company
will complete their new bridge over the Naugatuck River by the end of the month.
The previous one was destroyed by the August flood. Although it is a private
bridge, its completion will nonetheless alleviate congestion over the remaining
Ansonia span at Bridge Street, because the ABC Bridge will open up the rear
parking lot on The Flats behind the plant complex, which is now inaccessible.
The new bridge will be longer and higher than the old one.

SEYMOUR - The local Sarah Ludlow
Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, is asking for support in a
petition to name the new Broad Street Bridge after Seymour's founder, David
Humphreys. In other news relating to the bridge, the Town's Second Selectman
says the State has now reversed itself, and will erect a temporary span while it
is being replaced.

SHELTON - A car goes out of control
on the Bridge Street viaduct bridge over the canal, tearing off 53' of pipe
railing. The sidewalk on that side is closed.

February 3

ANSONIA - Ground is broken for the
new Smith Building, which will appear similar to the one across the street, on
East Main and Bridge Streets.

February 4

ANSONIA - Brothers Charles and Donald
Seccombe receive the Connecticut Life Saving award. During the height of the
August flood, they guided four people across Main Street, in the swift,
dangerous current, using a light rope.

DERBY - As of this time, a 30' high
dike, which is 50' wide at its base, has been along the riverbank at the
Center
Drive-In on Division Street.

SEYMOUR - Workmen clearing flood
debris on Broad Street find a bronze plaque that has been missing since the
Seymour Library was destroyed in the August flood. The plaque honors the late
C.B. Wooster and Charles H. Pine for establishing a fund to maintain the
library. It is put in safekeeping.

ANSONIA - Work begins on replacing
the water main under the Naugatuck River, destroyed in 1955 Flood. Construction
on the new Bailey Bridge progressing.

DERBY - The John H. Collins Post of
the American Legion in votes to sever relations with the Connecticut Hurricanes.
The Post had sponsored the Drum Corps since 1931, but now complains the Corps
has become so large and powerful (as it remains today) that they can't even make
suggestions anymore.

February 7

ANSONIA & DERBY - Officials meet to
discuss replacing the destroyed Division Street Bridge. They agree that they
want a two-lane bridge (unlike the last one) with a sidewalk.

ANSONIA - Employment has not only
bounded back to its pre-flood levels, but its the highest it has been since
1953.

ANSONIA - The newly organized Hilltop
Hose Company #5 elects its first captain - William Bruns.

February 9

ANSONIA - Open house at newly
remodeled Lincoln School. The new addition
has an auditorium, stage, and gymnasium. In both the new and old sections,
classrooms have been painted bright colors, and have been equipped with green
chalkboards to reduce eye strain, and, new lighting.

DERBY - The City's Civil Defense
director has purchased a used 1947 Chrysler ambulance, to be used by the
auxiliary police in emergencies.

February 10

DERBY - Charles Cock, considered the
oldest active merchant in state, dies at age 92. He and his brother moved their
dry goods store from Trenton, NJ to Ansonia in 1890. After the store was
destroyed by fire in 1901, George Barber, of the Howard & Barber department
store in Derby, invited him to join the firm. He became an officer in the
company in 1902, and continued until his death. He was also secretary of the
Connecticut Retail Merchants Association since 1910. Derby businesses announce
they will close February 13, the day of his funeral, out of respect for Mr.
Cock.

ANSONIA - A wild car chase from
Branford ends on Main Street. Six shots are fired, several of which hit the car,
before it crashes into two telephone poles. The two juveniles in the car flee -
one is chased down and captured on Main Street, while the other is apprehended
later in the day in New Haven.

February 16

DERBY - The Mayor's Disaster Relief
Fund has collected $10,793.36 since the floods. $5,533.77 has been given to aid
Derby flood victims. It is proposed to give $400 for the recently purchased
Civil Defense ambulance, and the rest be put into an account to replace the
Storm ambulance when needed.

SHELTON - Four room cottage burns to
ground off River Road. The cottage is part of the Elim Park Summer Camp for
Swedish children.

ANSONIA - Mayor Sheasby vows he will
try to get New Haven Railroad to build a new passenger station, rather then a
platform.

February 18

ANSONIA - State Representatives
Burkitt and Bergin ask for a public hearing on the proposed new railroad
platform, saying they are opposed to Ansonia receiving a "fourth rate shed".

DERBY - The Danbury Community
Ambulance, returning from New Haven in a snowstorm, is involved in a minor
accident with another vehicle on New Haven Avenue.

SHELTON - The police department holds
its first variety show at the High School. Nearly one thousand people attend.

Sunday, February 19, 1956

ANSONIA - St. Joseph's Church
organizes a building fund for a new convent.

February 20

The 20th winter storm of the season
dumps snow and sleet.

SHELTON - Dr. Edward Finn, who served
as Shelton's mayor in 1937 and 1938, and as the City's Health Officer for many
more years, dies. A star athlete in Shelton High School, he had practiced
medicine in town since 1913.

February 21

ANSONIA - Incorporating lessons
learned in the floods, Ansonia Red Cross decides to make dual key positions on
both the east and west sides of town, in case the City gets split in half by a
flooding Naugatuck River again.

SEYMOUR - The Pliskin Building on
47-49 Bank Street is damaged in serious fire. A package store, restaurant, and
dry cleaners suffer big loss, while a meat market has less damage.

February 22

ANSONIA - 3 alarm fire at Mackowski
Block and a 3 story house next door on Main Street near
Colburn Street. The Mackowski block is
a large, rambling building that has been added to several times, resulting in
both a wood frame portion and a masonry portion. The frame portion is destroyed.
20 families flee, 5 families are homeless. The fire started when oil drums on
the porches caught fire and explode, enveloping the stairwells in flames. Many
are initially trapped on the upper floors. 9 children are tossed across an alley
from the third floor to an adjoining building. One mother walks across narrow
plank 3 stories above the alley. 3 more children are dropped from 2nd floor to
people on the sidewalk below. Another is rescued by a ladder. The building
eventually collapsed, but in all there was only 1 minor injury. Ice from fire
hoses winds up everywhere. All Ansonia fire engines and firemen respond. Derby's
hook & ladder truck also responds, and Derby firemen later relieve exhausted
Ansonia firemen as the hours go by.

SHELTON - An 18-year old high school
boy, who was a varsity center on the basketball team, is accidentally shot by a
friend. He is in critical condition.

February 23

DERBY - The Mayor's Disaster
Committee, formed after the August flood, makes final disbursements and
disbands. $4000 goes to the Storm Ambulance replacement fund, $400 to Civil
Defense to pay for its reserve ambulance, $709.59 to Paugassett hook & ladder
for flood damage to its firehouse, and $150 to the Trabka brothers for damage to
their boat while rescuing people in the lower Caroline Street area.

ANSONIA - Many attend the John C.
Mead School open house. The wife of contractor who built the school in 1923 is
present, and says her husband would have been pleased with the changes.
Classrooms are painted bright, and there are new bathrooms, a teachers' room,
and an intercom system. The basement now a brightly painted assembly room.

ANSONIA - The south span of the
Bailey Bridge is completed. Work has
started on the north span, to make it a two-lane bridge.

SEYMOUR - The passenger station opens
for the first time since the August flood, in anticipation of rail service
starting on the 27th.

February 24

DERBY - James Donahue, 260 Hawthorne
Street, dies at 79. He was appointed City Clerk by Mayor Alfred Howe in 1907,
and served until his death. The mayor pays tribute to Mr. Donahue, while the
City prepares for a special election to fill his position.

ANSONIA - Joseph Smith reveals the
plans for new Smith Block on the northeast corner of Bridge Street and East Main
Street have changed. The new building will now will have a 2nd floor with
offices, and 5 stores on ground.

SEYMOUR - Dredging in the Broad
Street area is 80% done, including elimination of the island in the Naugatuck
River, and removing flood silt and debris.

February 25

DERBY - Today is 7th anniversary
since the last fatal automobile accident in Derby. There have been only 2 deaths
from that cause since 1944.

Sunday, February 26, 1956

ANSONIA - The State Police conclude
the Mackowski Building fire investigation from four days before. Four boys
between 8 and 12 saturated paper with oil from drums on the porch, and lit the
paper on fire. The flames spread to the drums and porch. The boys tried to put
the fire out with dirt, and when that failed they panicked. One boy actually
became trapped while trying to notify upper story residents, and was among those
rescued.

February 27

Passenger train service is restored
to Derby, Ansonia, and Seymour for the first time since August 18, 1955.

ANSONIA - Ansonia residents now are
paying the highest tax rate in City history. The rate is up 5 mills from last
year to 37 mills.

SEYMOUR - A $945,261 town budget is
approved, which is a record. Taxes are raised 1 mill to 31 mills.

SHELTON - The police are
investigating burglarizing and trashing of cottages at Mahoney's Grove, above
Birchbank along the Housatonic River.

DERBY - A car stolen in Ansonia
spotted by a police car on New Haven Avenue, moving at a high rate of speed. The
police car pursues, and nearly overtakes it, but the stolen car jumps across
street and turns around near Mt. St. Peter's Cemetery. After the car makes a
quick turn onto Bank Street that the police car can't make in time the car
escapes. It is later found abandoned on Crescent Street.

SEYMOUR - The Gruen Watch Company of
Cincinnati gets majority control of the Waterman Pen Company.

SHELTON - The police arrest 3 youths,
ages 12 to 15, for burglarizing 12 cottages in Mahoney's Grove above Birchbank.
They recover a large cache of stolen goods, including small boats, guns, and
fishing tackle. These boys are also accused of painting nearby railroad signal
lights different colors, and one of them is further charged with vandalizing the
Oates Brothers trucking terminal on Howe Avenue.

March

Thursday, March 1, 1956

DERBY - The Connecticut Hurricanes
Drum & Bugle Corps is now 25 years old, and hold an open house.

DERBY - Local and State Police raid
the Home Plate Tavern on Smith Street and arrest 7, and a Minerva Street market
where one is arrested. A Caroline Street man is picked up at home. All face
various gambling charges.

ANSONIA - The south span of the new
Bailey Bridgeis being lowered to the level
of the northern span, which is already in place. Hopefully the work will be done
by St. Patrick's Day. The newly replaced American
Brass Company bridge has lightened traffic over the crumbling Bridge Street
Bridge (the only Ansonia span to survive the floods somewhat intact) to some
extent.

March 2

SEYMOUR - 52 building permits issued
in February, an all time high for the town. Includes 33 new single family houses
off Bunting Road, and 14 in the area of Oriole Lane, Robin Road, and Skokorat
Street.

March 3

ANSONIA & DERBY - Franklin Farrel
3rd, in his Annual Report to Farrel-Birmingham stockholders, states the company
lost $1,750,000 in the 1955 floods - not counting lost of profits.

Monday, March 5, 1956

ANSONIA - The Memorial Day Parade
will have to be rerouted over the crumbling Bridge Street Bridge, because the
Maple Street Bridge was destroyed in the August flood. The parade will assemble
on State Street and end at Nolan Field.

SEYMOUR - Union Cemetery on Derby
Avenue is being restored from the devastating damage from the August 1955 flood.
Land that was washed away is being replaced. Monuments that were toppled have
been placed on one side, and will be put back when the bulldozers are done.

SHELTON - The City is planning on
splitting into Little Leagues, with the border at Bridgeport Avenue and Center
Street. Each loop will have four teams - the North Loop will continue to play at
Riverview Park, the South Loop will get a new Little League stadium at Lafayette
Field.

March 6

ANSONIA - The first lightning storm
of 1956 brings sizable hail. It is initially thought the hail broke windows at
Bennett's Service Station at 180 Wakelee Avenue, but it is later determined the
window was actually broke by clever burglars taking advantage of the situation.

ANSONIA - The Copper City Lodge of
the Elks celebrates the reopening of itsHigh
Street building for the first time since the August flood.

ANSONIA - Mayor Sheasby announces
preliminary plans for a one-week Ansonia Jubilee, to celebrate the business
center's recovery from the 1955 floods.

DERBY - Two 280' towers are erected
off Great Hill Road for the new WADS radio station.

March 7

ANSONIA - Woodbridge Manor, Inc, has
30 homes under construction off Pulaski Highway, and 3 streets laid - named
Caroline, Michael, and Chester, with a fourth street, Adams, yet to be laid out.

SHELTON - The upstart Little
Elephants Republican Club vote to completely reject the City's GOP slate. They
will present a full slate of their own candidates for their party's next
primary.

March 8

DERBY & OXFORD - Five Valley men are
arrested for stealing 6 coils, totaling 1375 lbs of copper wire, worth $500,
from the new WADS radio transmitter station on Silver Hill Road in Derby. A
mailman stumbled upon them at the end of Good Hill Road, Oxford, and reported it
to the police. State Police cased the area until two men showed up to pick up
the coils. The copper ring unravels from there.

SEYMOUR - The town will receive
$28,848 from the State to compensate for tax losses from the 1955 floods.

March 9

ANSONIA - The State Highway
Department cleans all the dirt and muck off the 44-year old Bridge Street
Bridge. While this may not sound like a big deal, it was a huge morale boast to
Ansonia, as the bridge has been a wreck since the August 1955 flood. Flood
deposits, as well as grime from the subsequent dredging of the river and visible
damage from the flood, made the bridge very unattractive. The Bridge Street
Bridge was actually legally closed just before the August flood, but it wound up
being the only one of four Ansonia bridges to survive the August flood, the only
link between the east and west sides of the City. The bridge was still a wreck
after the large number of State men, equipment, and trucks finished their job,
but the Sentinel proudly proclaimed it was transformed "into as tidy,
bright, and shining a ruin as could be found anywhere in the world".

SEYMOUR - The Shed, a popular diner,
will reopen for the first time since the August Flood.

ANSONIA - The frame of the new,
unpopular, railroad passenger platform arrives. It will be placed above the old,
condemned passenger station.

March 13

SEYMOUR - The 72 year old Broad
Street Bridge is demolished.

DERBY - Rev. Joseph W. Barry, a
retired priest, dies at his home at 115 Derby Avenue. The city native was born
in 1881, and ordained in 1904.

March 14

ANSONIA - Pine Manual Training School
has a new automobile for it's driver education class.

SHELTON - The Board of Education
turns down a request by the Town of Monroe to send high school students to
Shelton High, saying the anticipated growth of the City eliminates any room
within the next few years.

March 15

The State reports there are 270
Valley residents at Fairfield Hills long term psychiatric hospital. 97 of them
were admitted within the past year - quite possibly due to the stress caused by
the 1955 floods.

ANSONIA - Mayor Sheasby shocks the
City when he announces he will not seek a third term.

March 16

Snow begins falling in the evening,
accompanied by 40 mph winds. A total of 7-8" of snow falls. A rural mail carrier
suffers fatal heart attack putting chains on car on South West Road in Seymour.
Numerous traffic accidents are reported in Derby, including a snowplow that lost
control on Colt Street and hits a utility pole. A woman is mugged on Lester
Street in Ansonia during the storm, and her purse is stolen. Many cars are
stranded in Shelton.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADES - The
Webster Hose Company #3 of Ansonia participates in the New York City St.
Patrick's Day parade for the third time in its history. Mayor Sheasby is in the
line of march. Derby's Storm Engine Company #2 and Ansonia's Charters Hose
Company #4 participate in the New Haven parade.

DERBY - A fire on the roof of Hull
Dye & Print Company causes $1500 damage.

March 18

ANSONIA - Veteran humorist
Fred Allen dies in New
York City. Twice he appeared at the Capitol Theater on the vaudeville circuit, in
1923 and 1927.

Monday, March 19, 1956

By noon, 14 inches of snow had fallen
from a storm which began the night before. This is the second major winter storm
to hit the area in 48 hours. Schools and factories are closed. Numerous traffic
accidents are reported.

SHELTON - Joseph Bednarcik, 28,
paralyzed since a November 13, 1943 shooting accident on Wooster Street, dies.
He was a life member of the Echo Hose Hook & Ladder Company, and periodically
would ride around the city in the Echo ambulance.

March 20

The double snowstorm has been called
the worst in 50 years, over 21 inches have fallen. The cleanup is massive and
slow - "snow loaders" are being employed.

DERBY - A picture appears in the
Sentinel of the Paugassett hook and ladder truck's 65' aerial being used to
knock huge icicles off the
Fourth Street side of City Hall (the Sterling Opera House).

SEYMOUR - The Board of Education
votes to hold the High School commencement outdoors at Bungay School, one week
earlier than usual. The flood-damaged high school will not be ready by June.

OXFORD - A bulldozer is being
employed to clear snow off the roads.

OXFORD - The 1955 Floods cost the
Town of Oxford $4,143.05. However, the Federal Government, though the Army Corps
of Engineers, contributed $2,697.85 of the total costs.

March 21

ANSONIA - The Ansonia Red Cross has
spent $2,170.73 to help 5 families burned out by the February 22 fire that
destroyed the Mackowski Block.

March 22

Snow removal continues in Ansonia and
Derby.

ANSONIA - Farrel-Birmingham
Corporation Vice President Coe testifies before the Senate Committee of Public
Works in Washington DC. He asks for funds for rip-rapping, permanent dikes,
flood walls, and channel deepening. He says the Valley's industries cannot move
to high ground, and intend to stay.

SHELTON - The Board of Aldermen
reverses its decision, and grants a zone change that will allow for a General
Store on East Village Road in White Hills.

March 23

ANSONIA - The delayed
Bailey Bridge is
scheduled to finally open on March 26.

March 24

SEYMOUR - The Police Department will
start a 40 hour work week on April 1, abandoning the current 48 hour system,
with no loss in pay.

March 25

DERBY - Five injured, including three
nursing students, in a 2-car accident at Roosevelt Drive and Cemetery Avenue.

Monday, March 26, 1956

ANSONIA - The new
Bailey Bridge
finally opens. All trains must stop at the nearby crossing, which is right at
the approaches to the temporary span. A railroad flagman is posted there. Bank
Street will be two-way street as long as its open - the Bridge connects Bank
Street to Broad Street.
The traffic thins on the overused Bridge Street Bridge.

March 27

ANSONIA - The replacement of the
water main under the Naugatuck River, which was destroyed in the August 1955
Flood, is completed, but the main won't be used for another month.

March 28

DERBY - The High School valedictorian
is Annette Marcucio. The salutorian is Joyce Melillo.

ANSONIA - Mayor Sheasby appears
before the Public Works subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee in
Washington DC. He asks them to look at the humanitarian component of flood
protection instead of just the numbers it would cost.

SHELTON - About 500 Christmas Trees
are destroyed at a brush fire at Jones Tree Farm.

March 29

ANSONIA - State Rep. Garrett Burkitt
attends an Ansonia Board of Aldermen meeting, where he accuses them of
"persecuting" a Bridgeport firm that wants to build 275 homes. He calls the
Aldermanic President a "little nut" when he threatens to eject him from meeting.

March 30

ANSONIA - A bulldozer parked on the
east bank of the Naugatuck River, just below the Bailey Bridge, slides into 15'
of water when the bank gives away.

March 31

ANSONIA - A worker trying to attach a
line to the submerged bulldozer in the river steps into a deep hole, falls, and
has to be thrown a line to avoid being swept away.

ANSONIA - The Police Department
surveys Bridge Street and Main Street intersection between 11 AM and 7 PM, and
notes 16,776 cars passed during that time.

April

April 1

EASTER SUNDAY - Churches are crowded.
The day features bright sunny skies, with temperatures a bit chilly. Hundreds
attend a Protestant sunrise service at 6 AM at Shelton's Highland Golf Club. At
Seymour Congregational Church - flood recovery machinery sat silent right
outside the door as services held inside. The neighborhood of Seymour
Congregational was nearly obliterated in the Flood - the survival of the Church
was nearly miraculous.

DERBY - Sixth anniversary of Yudkin
Development observed. 79 homes have been built thus far, with 6 under
construction, and another 13 under contract. The goal is 400 homes and a
shopping center at Sodom Lane and New Haven Avenue, as well as a school nearby.
Mr. Yudkin wants to turn Two-Mile Brook into a fountain w/ colored lights
illuminating it.

ANSONIA - Staff Sgt. Joseph LaRocco
of Central Street wrote this year's Easter theme song for Narsarssuak Air Base,
Greenland, called Eastertime. The flip side of his record is another song
he wrote called Pretty Rag Doll. He has won awards for his music, that
specialize in Italian folk songs.

Monday, April 2, 1956

SEYMOUR & OXFORD - The Boards of
Education from both towns agree to form individual fact finding committees to
explore combining to build a joint high school.

April 3

DERBY - The Board of Aldermen gives
preliminary approval to reduce the police officers' workweek to 40 hours a week,
just as Seymour recently did.

ANSONIA - The State Highway
commissiner tells Ansonia it will not replace the Maple Street Bridge until City
agrees to replace the portion over the railroad tracks it recently demolished,
arguing this portion of the bridge was not damaged. The State also says will not
pay for the 44' wide bridge sought by the City, but for a 30' wide bridge, just
like the last one destroyed in the August 1955 Flood. The State contends the
money it is giving to the City is supposed to repair flood damage, not
improvement infrastructure.

SEYMOUR - The Town will eventually
have 3 bridges crossing Naugatuck River, despite the fact it currently has one
left. These are, the present Bank Street bridge, the new Broad Street Bridge,
and the new Route 8 expressway which will cross over a "huge bridge" that will
end just north of Tingue Mills. Plans may call for extending elevated highway
beyond

SHELTON - B.N. Beard is clearing 4-5
acres of land on Huntington Street, between Lane Street and Shelton Avenue,
which has been zoned. The Huntington General Store is still located here at this
time. The nearby Means Brook has been dredged, and the fill has been used to
level the slope between the brook and Huntington Street. The ground will need a
year to settle before anything can be built on it, so for the time being it will
continue to be uses as ballparks.

April 4

ANSONIA - Mayor Sheasby replies to
the State Highway commissioner that the General Assembly had never intended
state assistance to be disbursed as strictly as he is doing with the Maple
Street Bridge improvements.

April 5

OXFORD - Carl Eckstrom, a prominent
stage actor, dies in New York City. His summer resident was on Rockhouse Hill.
For the last 20 years he recited Gettysburg Address at Oxford's Memorial Day
celebrations.

DERBY - The Board of Aldermen adopt
an ordinance to create a Planning Commission, consisting of 5 members - 2 from
each party and one independent.

SEYMOUR - The State is contemplating
a temporary Bailey Bridge
while the Broad Street Bridge is replaced.

ANSONIA - Although the State has not
changed its position on the Maple Street Bridge, it announces today it will
build a two-lane bridge to replace the one destroyed in the August 1955 flood on
Division Street.

The Naugatuck Valley River Control
Commissioner tells Governor Ribicoff the Valley can't wait 4 years for a flood
control dam to be completed at Thomaston - saying one more flood will destroy
the community. The Commission recommends more dredging, temporary dikes, higher
and wider bridges in interim. Town by town the recommendations include:

ANSONIA - A new higher bridge at
Division Street, a new dike from the American Brass Company above Main Street,
all the way to Beaver Brook

SEYMOUR - Removing Rimmon Dam in
Seymour. A flood wall from Seymour Manufacturing Company to the Little River. A
dike from West Street to the corner of Derby Avenue and Cedar Street. Removal of
High Rock Dam (which gave Beacon Falls it's name).

DERBY - Extend the Housatonic River
Dike to include O'Sullivan's Island. Extend the Naugatuck River dike form
Division Street to O'Sullivan's Island. Flood walls protecting East Derby.

SHELTON - A flood wall from Upper
Canal Street to Wharf Street, and a dike form Wharf Street to Brewster Street.

April 6

DERBY - Woman walks into the SNET
building on Elizabeth Street to pay a telephone bill dated October 1, 1917,
totaling $3.32, including a 10 cent war tax. She says she lived in Shelton with
her husband, who had been ill for 12 years. His sickness forced them to move. He
died 30 years ago. She had promised herself she'd pay all their old debts.

April 7

Several inches of snow falls in the
evening, continuing into Sunday morning. Public work crews are called out to
plow for the 37th time this winter season.

ANSONIA - A near riot on lower Main
Street, opposite Bing's Restaurant at 491 Main. Two are arrested as Ansonia
Police try to aid a woman among a hostile crowd. One suspect escapes a police
car, but later recaptured.

High water in the Housatonic River -
it is only inches from overflowing its banks.

Monday, April 9, 1956

ANSONIA - The Army wants Ansonia to
abandon a little used section of Deerfield Road, that cuts through new
NIKE site. The
matter is referred to a public hearing.

April 10

ANSONIA - The State tells the City it
will start new a Division Street Bridge in June, and a Maple Street Bridge in
autumn. The Bridge Street Bridge will be replaced as soon as the Maple Street
span is finished. The Maple Street Bridge will be longer than the old one, 400
feet, because the river has been dredged wider at this point. The width of the
bridge, a point of contention between the State and City, is still being
debated. However, the State has agreed that it will pay for the demolition of
the Maple Street Bridge, which has already occurred, over the railroad tracks.

SHELTON - The Board of Aldermen vote
unanimously to change the zoning on East Village Road to allow the construction
of a White Hills General Store.

April 11

SEYMOUR - All traces of the Broad
Street Bridge have been completely removed. The channel being is being widened
and deepened, and footings are being prepared for a temporary bridge.

April 12

ANSONIA - City native Col. Niels I
Poulsen retires after 38 years of service in the US Army. He is a veteran of
World Wars I & II, as well as the Korean War. He retired from the National Guard
in 1951 as a Brigadier General. He lives at 197 Wakelee Avenue.

DERBY - The Board of Aldermen approve
a 40-hour workweek, at the same rate of pay, for the Police Department.

April 13

ANSONIA - The Valley's new radio
station, WADS-AM, goes on the air for the first time from its studios at the
Capitol Theater
building. The station's call letters stand for Ansonia, Derby, Seymour and
Shelton.

SEYMOUR - A 30-acre forest fire
extends into Woodbridge behind the town dump at Haddad Road and Silvermine Road.

April 15

ANSONIA - Bishop John Hackett
dedicates the new Assumption Church convent on North Cliff Street, and lauds the
Sisters of Mercy for their 70 years work in Ansonia.

Monday, April 16, 1956

SHELTON - New Bridgeport Hydraulic
Company pumping station dedicated on Myrtle Street and Fairfield Avenue. Will
boost water pressure for 218 families.

April 17

ANSONIA - For several weeks, city
children have been trading and playing with reflectors that came in a box left
near the riverbank near the new Bailey Bridge. They are being used as
reflectors, night lights, and even toys, as they glow in the dark. The police
warn that the Army had made them aware that these reflectors actually contain
lethal doses of radiation if they are broken. They were intended to guide
soldiers over the bridges at night, but were not needed in Ansonia since the
Bailey Bridge is lighted. The police urge all children and parents to return the
reflectors to the police station.

DERBY - Work begins on replacing a
16" water main that was swept away in the August 1955 flood from Main Street's
Naugatuck River bridge.

April 18

DERBY - The Derby Historical Society
holds its Annual Meeting at the First Congregational Church. Miss Jeanette Booth
is reelected President, Mrs. Mabel Marvin Vice President, and Miss Maude Bradley
secretary-treasurer. The guest speaker was Miss Mary Hull of Seymour, who talked
about the old days on Great Hill, and brought artifacts from Derby and Seymour's
history.

ANSONIA - Most of the radioactive
reflectors have been recovered.

ANSONIA - Heavy black smoke pours
from every window of Ansonia Armory, causing many to think the entire building
was on fire. Oil in a pit in the basement caught fire, creating the smoke.

ANSONIA - State makes temporary
repairs to the bad sidewalk on the south side of the Bridge Street Bridge.

SHELTON - 2-alarm brush fire burns 5
acres on Nell's Rock Road. Two firemen are overcome by smoke and taken to
Griffin Hospital.

April 19

Despite the disastrous floods, retail
sales rose in all Valley communities in the last quarter of 1955. The big
winners were Derby with $3,847,671, and Shelton with $3,172,506, as their
downtowns were relatively undamaged. But even the devastated downtowns saw an
increase, with Ansonia up $592,501 and Seymour up $356,240.

SHELTON - Bitter Republican primary
as the Little Elephant Republican Club squares off against Shelton's traditional
"Old Guard" Republican Party. For the first time in their five year struggle,
the Little Elephants win, securing 45 out of 48 town committee seats.

April 20

ANSONIA - A fire causes $3500 damage
at the Scharmett Chemical Company on the corner of
Canal Street and
Green Street,
and fills area up with heavy, dense smoke that can be seen for miles. The new
company occupies a former feed mill, making cork and foam rubber stuffing for
toys and dolls. It was about to begin operations, just waiting for the power
connections to run its machinery. The loading dock is destroyed, and the main
building damaged, but not destroyed, thanks to efforts of firemen from Eagles,
Websters, and Charters hose companies.

DERBY - Permanent War Memorial
commission tells Mayor Dirienzo they favor converting the newer addition of the
old Irving School on Fifth Street into a swimming pool and gymnasium for
teenagers.

April 21

ANSONIA - Ansonia and the State enter
a $1 million agreement, which will involve the State will replacing the Division
and Maple Street bridges (the width of the later still unresolved), and repave
Canal Street,
and parts of Broad,
High, and Maple
Streets. The Division Street bridge will be replaced first, and it will be 15'
higher than the one destroyed in August 1955. It will have one sidewalk, and be
two lanes wide. Property acquisition is already underway on the east bank of the
bridge, in an attempt to eliminate the curves leading to its eastern approaches.

SHELTON - The high school student
accidentally shot on February 22 and critically injured returns home for the
first time.

SEYMOUR - A 13 year old boy is bitten
in the finger by a copperhead snake in a swamp near the Seymour Grange Hall. His
13 year old companion utilizes his Boy Scout training - tearing a piece of his
shirt to form a tourniquet on the finger, then sucking the poison out. The
victim is taken to Griffin Hospital, where he is treated and released, and his
friend is hailed as a hero.

Monday, April 23, 1956

ANSONIA - John J. Stevens retires as
Ansonia Superintendent of Schools after 25 years in that position, and 46 years
in school system. He replaced Richard Tobin in 1931. Mr. Stevens is replaced by
William J. Comcowich, principal of the Junior High School, by vote of 5-2.

ANSONIA - The Valley Home Show opens
at the Ansonia Armory. Many of those attending view a color television for the
first time in their lives, along with hi-fi record players. Many booths are
present.

OXFORD - The Zoning Board votes to
rezone Route 67 commercial, from the Seymour line to John Griffin Wayside State
Park, and from opposite Great Hill Road to West Street.

SEYMOUR - The Town's Chamber of
Commerce goes on record as requesting the State to speed up erecting a temporary
bridge across the Naugatuck River on Broad Street.

SHELTON - Fire guts a mobile home at
Woodland Trailer Park off Bridgeport Avenue. A firemen is treated at Griffin
Hospital and released for smoke inhalation.

April 24

DERBY - The 44 tenants of the
Buddies Terrace
Federal Housing Project get eviction notices, saying they must leave by October
1. The City's housing chairman says the project will be demolished.

DERBY - The Board of Zoning Appeals
grants approval for an open air market on the corner of Roosevelt Drive and F
Street.

April 25

ANSONIA - The State announces it will
build a new Maple Street bridge with a 30' roadway, but 2 sidewalks. The City
can later remove a sidewalk to widen the roadway, if it wants. City also must
acquire parts of Gardella Building property on the east side, and the Paloski
Building on the west side, for the project.

SHELTON - A police car is rammed by a
car it was chasing on Route 8. The driver is caught and arrested.

April 26

ANSONIA - A $12,000 fire sweeps the B
and J Electric Motor Repair Company, a motor rewinding and repair plant, in the
Fosdick Building on Central Street at Beaver Street. This is the second major
fire in the one story brick building - it used to be the Fosdick Bakery which
burned in 1919.

ANSONIA - The State is reconstructing
sections of sidewalk on the crumbling Bridge Street Bridge.

DERBY - The City's two new Ford
police cars are put into service.

SHELTON - The Army leases the first
floor of 25 Brook Street, to be used as a field maintenance shop for the
NIKE missile bases
under construction nearby. The lease runs to June 30, 1959.

April 27

ANSONIA - The German Society of
Ansonia, also known as Deutscher Verein, sells its hall on
Broad Street to
private hands. The society started in 1915.

April 28

SHELTON - The Army acquires 8.82
acres off North Street, which would later become Palmetto Circle. This is in
addition to the 36.15 acres off Mohegan Road for the
NIKE site
itself.

April 29

DERBY - After a mile of straight
roadway, Mill Street
Extension
has a sharp turn (probably at today's Exit 16 southbound entrance ramp onto
Route 8) which causes so many frequent automobile wrecks the Derby police have
started to call it "Accident, Incorporated". On this date, a car almost went
over the embankment, getting hung up on guardrail above a swamp. On a previous
occasion, a car actually landed in the swamp, but fortunately no one was
seriously injured. Police warn that its only a matter of time before a fatality
occurs there.

SHELTON - A two-story, 30'x30' barn
on King's Highway is struck by lightning and burns to the ground. The five
cattle inside are saved. The City's fire alarm system is also struck by
lightning, preventing the Echo Hose fire horns from sounding. Fire engine
drivers are called by telephone, while a man climbs to the roof of the building
and manually sounds the fire horns.

Monday, April 30, 1956

DERBY - David Schpero, a downtown
jeweler since 1923, collapses and dies.

May

Tuesday, May 1, 1956

ANSONIA - Edward Begley of Ansonia,
the 5th husband of comedienne
Martha Raye, will divorce her. This news breaks one week after she was sued
by a Westport woman for "stealing the affections" of her husband, who is an
off-duty Westport police officer moonlighting as her bodyguard. Mr. Begley and
Ms. Raye have been living apart a year, they were married in 1954

DERBY - After being nearly wiped off
the map by the two 1955 floods, the Center Drive-In theater will reopen with a
new, bigger 120x60' screen. There will also now be 2 box offices, new and higher
ramps for better views, a new carousel, and a larger, 4-lane snack bar.

SEYMOUR - One of the worst forest
fires in years strikes town, threatening homes on Willow Street and Maple
Street.

SEYMOUR - The State tells a visiting
delegation from the local Chamber of Commerce a temporary span will be erected
at the demolished Broad Street Bridge site by September 1.

May 2

DERBY - The City essentially shuts
down for the funeral of David Schpero at the Congregation Sons of Israel on
Anson Street. They synagogue is packed, with 2000 inside and many more many
outside.

DERBY - 200 members of Local 127, the
Carpenters and Joiners Union of the Lower Naugatuck Valley, vote to strike. They
want $3.30 an hour for a 7 hour day. The old contract calls for $2.85 for 8 hour
day. The 7 hour day is the sticking point - if they get this they will be the
first Connecticut Carpenter and Joiner union to do so.

ANSONIA - Workmen collapsing the
ancient tailrace
for the new storm water sewer system find sewage is still flowing into it from
number of buildings in the Bank Street area, despite decades of assurance to the
contrary.

May 3

SHELTON - Esteemed resident Daniel
Brinsmade dies. He was deeply involved with the Ousatonic Water Company, the
Shelton Water Company, and the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company. He also served as
president of the Plumb Memorial Library association.

ANSONIA & SHELTON - Equipment is
being moved from the S.O.&C. plant on Main Street, Ansonia, to the new United
Shoe Machinery plant on River Road in Shelton.

May 4

SEYMOUR - The American Brass Company
is rebuilding the Kinneytown Dam, destroyed in the August 1955 flood. It is
expected to be in operation by July 15.

ANSONIA - The old American Brass
Company office building is being demolished on Liberty Street to make room for a
parking area. The structure was originally constructed in 1889 for the Coe Brass
Company, which later became part of the ABC conglomerate.

DERBY - The State announces the mouth
of the Naugatuck River will be dredged from the Main Street bridge to the
railroad trestle.

DERBY - Yale's varsity crew beats
Cornell and Princeton to win the 29th annual Carnegie cup. John Cooke of Ansonia
was on the winning Yale crew. This is the first Yale win since 1951. Despite the
fact there were 5,000 spectators lining the course in Derby and Shelton, their
behavior was not nearly as bad as seen during the old "Derby Days" of yesteryear.

Monday, May 7, 1956

ANSONIA - Mayor Sheasby's flood
recovery celebration committee votes to drop plans for a jubilee to mark
Ansonia's recovery from the disaster, after a largely passive or negative
response from citizens.

ANSONIA - Public hearing is held on
the requested closing of Deerfield Lane for the Army
NIKE site.
Those attending state they want an alternative street constructed in its
place.

ANSONIA - A suspicious car with 4
teens is pulled over on Clifton Avenue. From this stop, police quickly unravel a
ring responsible for many thefts of motor vehicle accessories in the Valley for
a long time. A pair of 17 year olds, from Shelton and Ansonia, and two 15 year
old Shelton boys are taken into custody. A search of the teens' hiding places
results in many stolen items being found.

DERBY - The water main at the Main
Street bridge in Derby, destroyed in the August 1955 flood, is being replaced.

SEYMOUR - Seymour will get $204,278
from the State to repair damage to the high school from the floods.

May 8

ANSONIA - After a 3 week delay, radio
station WADS-AM goes on the air for the first time.

ANSONIA - The State department of
health is asked to investigate which buildings are dumping sewage into the
tail race. When
the new storm sewer is completed, only sewage will remain in the tail race,
creating an unacceptable situation.

DERBY - A cellar fire breaks out in a
3 story wood frame 4-family building, that includes Hyde's Pharmacy, the Regent
Barber Shop, and Bunny-Dee Shoppe, on 59 Anson Street. 10 residents escape the
flames, which cause $4,000 damage.

SHELTON - Francis Brophy, owner of
the Huntington General Store, has asked for a permit to build a 50'x20' gas
station with 6 pumps in the Center on Huntington Street.

May 11

ANSONIA - The Police Department names
its first female supernumerary officer, 23 year old Alice Lingane of Beaver
Street. She will hold the rank of sergeant. Police Board says having a woman on
the force will be helpful in certain cases dealing with females.

ANSONIA - The Urban Renewal
Administration releases $72,000 to Ansonia to finance preliminary planning and
redevelopment measures, part of $150,000 assured after the flood for the hard
hit Main Street and Broad
Street areas.

May 13

ANSONIA -The Bridge Street Bridge
will be rebuilt - its arches will be cut down and the present footings will be
used. The new span is planned as 48' wide, with sidewalks on each side. The
State spokesman also says the Division Street and Maple Street bridges will be
replaced.

DERBY - The State announces the Main
Street Bridge over the Naugatuck River will be replaced.

ROUTE 8 - To date, Route 8 from the
Shelton expressway to Winter Street, Derby, along with the
Mill Street Connector to Ansonia, has cost the State $9,442,000. A
total of $384,000 on the bridges over Division, Hull, and Jackson Streets. The
State plans to extend the expressway to Kinneytown Flats in Seymour by June 1,
1957.

SEYMOUR - Rev. Harold J. Edwards
announces he will retire on July 1 as rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, where
he has served as rector since January 15, 1928.

Monday, May 14, 1956

ANSONIA - The Ansonia Girl Scout
Council announces it has received a $2,400 New Haven Foundation grant to install
a well and utilities at the new girl scout camp in Oxford. This is now Camp
AnSeOx.

ANSONIA - Democrats on the Board of
Aldermen object to their Republican counterparts not submitting their 2 Board of
Education nominations until half hour before the meeting. After the Democrats
decline a motion to table, all 6 Republican Aldermen leave the meeting, breaking
it's quorum and thus preventing any elections. The remaining 6 Democrats vote to
reschedule the meeting, and they will subpoena the Republicans to attend if
necessary.

SHELTON - The Board of Aldermen votes
to accept an agreement with the State Highway Department to repair flood damage
to roads and bridges. City funds will be reimbursed by the State.

May 15

DERBY - Plans are submitted to
convert the former Creamery Package Corporation on Roosevelt Drive, between A
Street and B Street, into a shopping center, with stores on the first floor, and
offices on the second. A new A&P will be built on the land, too.

ANSONIA - The Army Corps of Engineers
says it will seek condemnation proceedings to get the rights to Deerfield Lane,
adjacent to the NIKE site
they wish to construct. At the same time, the Corps also asks city for rights to
start construction permits for the NIKE site during the condemnation
proceedings.

May 16

DERBY - Police Chief Manion asks
merchants not to put garbage on the curb until the morning of trash pickup,
saying boxes and papers blowing around have turned downtown into "a disgrace".

ANSONIA - The State will reimburse
Ansonia $10,378 for repairs to City Hall from the August Flood of 1955.

May 19

ANSONIA - Police officers fire 5
shots into air at fleeing pair who assaulted a couple near the train station.
One suspect jumps into river and escapes to other side. The other is captured
behind the McMahon and Wren Block on Water Street.

SHELTON - Chordas Pond off Nell's
Rock Road is closed to public fishing due to extreme acts of vandalism on the
property, by the administrator of the nearby estate containing the pond. The
pond had been stocked and managed by State as a children's fishing area since
1950.

May 20

DERBY - 800 are present for the
opening of the Little League season at Coon Hollow Park.

ANSONIA - Local and State police raid
a craps game in the woods off Woodbridge Avenue. 10 are arrested.

Monday, May 21, 1956

ANSONIA - The Board of Alderman elect
2 Republicans to the Board of Education. Despite this, the Republicans are not
happy because one of the candidates, did not announce until the last minute.
He's elected 7-6, with many Republicans voting against him.

DERBY - A public hearing at Derby
High School on the Yudkin Development Company's petition for a zoning change for
an East Derby shopping center ends up seeing local citizens voting informally
168-77 against it.

SHELTON - Huntington General Store
shopkeeper Francis Brophy and the Board of Zoning Appeals served by 3
neighboring residents and the Huntington Congregational Church. They are opposed
to Mr. Brophy's plan of installing 6 gas pumps in Huntington Center, saying they
will lower property values, destroy the beauty of the Green, and increase
traffic.

May 26

SHELTON - A Birdseye Road house under
renovation is destroyed by a fire, despite the efforts of 3 fire companies.
Firemen hampered by the fact the nearest hydrant was in Huntington Center, and
the 2 tankers shuttling water got tied up in traffic caused by sightseers.

May 27

SEYMOUR - The new Seymour
Congregational Church organ, replacing one destroyed in the August 1955 flood,
is dedicated with a recital.

SEYMOUR - An 83 year old woman dies
when a glass gallon jug of gasoline spills and explodes in her kitchen on Culver
Street, setting the house on fire.

SHELTON - Huntington's Memorial Day
services and parade are cancelled by rain.

SEYMOUR - The Great Hill Hose Company
#1's new Seagrave fire engine can pump 750 gallons per minute, and is the most
powerful pumper in the Valley.

May 30

The Memorial Day parades are well
patronized in Seymour, Ansonia, and Derby-Shelton. 1000 visit Indian Well State
Park on its opening weekend.

ANSONIA - This is the first parade in
the 50-year history of the Ansonia Memorial Day Association that does not pass
over the Maple Street Bridge, on account of it being washed away in the August
1955 flood.

SEYMOUR - The Town is informed it
will receive $15,270 reimbursement on emergency housing, and $1,059 for damage
to Broad Street park, both related to the floods last year.

DERBY - Yudkin Development withdraws
its petition for a zoning change to erect a shopping center in East Derby
seconds before Board of Aldermen meeting is to start. This petition was
unfavorably regarded at a public meeting the week before.

SHELTON - A big crane strikes the
Prospect Street overpass on Route 8, bending a steel girder on the bridge, and
causing much damage to the crane.

June

Friday, June 1, 1956

ANSONIA - Polio vaccine shots given
to 200 children at Lincoln
School.

OXFORD - Valley Boy Scouts from
Housatonic Council hold their annual camporee on the Joseph Prokop farm,
starting tonight. It is the worst weather ever, with constant rain. Several
troops leave the following night when the rain is at it's worst, but most stay.

June 3

SHELTON - A 23 year old from 43
Bridge Street is caught hiding while burglarizing the Twin Door Restaurant at 41
Bridge Street.

Monday, June 4, 1956

ANSONIA - The Ansonia Board of Health
authorizes its director to take whatever steps necessary to discover which Main
Street buildings are dumping sewage into the
tailrace.

ANSONIA - The State Department of
Education will reimburse Ansonia $70,189 spent on remodeling and enlarging
Lincoln School.

ANSONIA - Work starts clearing 20
acres at the end of Osborn Lane for the new
NIKE site.

June 7

ANSONIA - Members of Local 445,
International Union Mine Mill and Smelter Workers, are picketing the United Auto
Workers-CIO office on Liberty Street to protest their membership drive among
American Brass Company workers while the former union is negotiating with ABC.

June 8

SHELTON - Clearing of land for the
new NIKE site is
underway off Mohegan Road, and a new road to it is being built.

June 9

DERBY - State Police raid two Minerva
Street stores, and arrest 17 men on gambling charges.

June 10

DERBY - The East End Hose Company
fire station is dedicated on Derby-Milford Road.

SHELTON - 500 attend the Little
League parade and opening day ceremonies.

Monday, June 11, 1956

SEYMOUR - The High School's Wildcat
baseball team wins the 1956 Housatonic League Championship by defeating Branford
6-5 at French Memorial Park.

SHELTON - The Board of Alderman votes
to raise the number of regular police officers from 11 to 13.

June 12

The Army Corps of Engineers tells
Sen. Prescott Bush that the 1955 Floods destroyed the erosion balance of the
Naugatuck River, and removal of silt may be an ongoing process that is going to
have to be up to Ansonia and other towns to handle in the future.

DERBY - A pair of horses escape an
Orange farm and run down New Haven Avenue, nearly causing several accidents.
They are captured near Prospect Street and held near
Franklin School
before being returned. An hour later they escape again into the Sentinel Hill
area.

DERBY - The National Safety Council
announces that Derby is number 2 in the nation in terms of length of time
without a fatal traffic accident in cities between 10,000 and 20,000. It has
been six years since a fatal accident. The only city with a better record is
State College, PA.

SEYMOUR - The High School graduates
92 members in its 69th annual commencement. The ceremony is held outside on
Bungay School grounds, because the SHS auditorium was destroyed by the Flood of
1955. The weather cooperates, providing a beautiful sky and blazing sunset as a
background. Marion Teveleit is the valedictorian.

SHELTON - Mrs. Ellen Tate Booth, wife
of former mayor Ralph C. Booth, dies while visiting New York City. Mr. Booth was
mayor from 1941 to 1946, and is now judge of Shelton City Court.

June 13

ANSONIA - The American Brass Company
and Local 443 International Union of Mine Mill and Smelter Workers sign a 3 year
contract after long negotiations, raising wages from 24 to 29 cents an hour and
agreeing to making ABC a union shop.

June 14

DERBY - 73 graduate Derby High
School. The graduates walk from DHS on Minerva Street to the New Irving School
gymnasium. The valedictorian is Annette Marcucio. Superintendent James L. O'Hara
presents a diploma to his daughter Kathleen.

DERBY - John Santangelo and Edward
Levy are petitioning to build a shopping center on the
Mill Street Connector
adjacent to Charlton Press.

June 15

The Army Corps of Engineers approves
2 new flood control dams for the upper Naugatuck River in the Torrington area.
This will help prevent flooding in the Lower Naugatuck Valley.

SHELTON - St. Joseph's Church has
completed redecorating.

SHELTON - A survey finds Plumb
Memorial Library is badly overcrowded.

June 17

ANSONIA - Three Saints Russian
Orthodox Church is dedicated by His Eminence, Bishop Metropolitan Leonty. The
ceremony is very crowded, and a reception at the Ansonia Armory is well
attended by both church members and local dignitaries.

SHELTON - Pontifical mass held at St.
Joseph's Church for its 50th anniversary Golden Jubilee, conducted by Bishop
Lawrence Sheehan. He gives a special blessing from Pope Pius XII to the
parishioners

Monday, June 18, 1956

ANSONIA - The Most Rev. James
Mangers, Roman Catholic bishop of Oslo, Norway, is a guest of the Rev. Benedict
Gauronskas, who is pastor of St. Anthony's. The bishop's visit takes some
political tones when he states that Norwegians can't understand why the United
States fears the Soviet Union, saying it is inconceivable that they would attack
the West.

June 19

DERBY - A member of the Board of
Alderman member asks for police car #2 to patrol East Derby between 1 AM and 8
AM, partly to curb speeding on New Haven Avenue. He says the car idles in front
of police station all night, a point Mayor Direnzo disagrees with.

SHELTON - The Police Chief reminds
all Huntington School parents that swimming in the Beard pit, formed by the
clearing of the Far Mill River channel, (near today's shopping center), is
dangerous and illegal.

June 20

ANSONIA - Ansonia High School and
Pine High School graduate 168 students at the Ansonia High auditorium. Joan
Johnston is the valedictorian, while Irene Kusako is the salutatorian.

ANSONIA - Rev. Jerome H. French,
pastor of the Clinton AME Zion Church, is named Presiding Elder of the Boston
District of the New England AME Zion Churches. He will stay in Ansonia until his
successor is named.

DERBY - The Board of Apportionment &
Taxation votes to compensate Mayor Direnzo $1500 he did not earn from his
regular job at Farrel-Birmingham, because of duties he had to perform related to
the Flood of 1955. Also related to the flood, pay for auxiliary police officers
that served during the emergency will be compensated by Army Corps of Engineers.

June 21

ANSONIA & DERBY - Farrel-Birmingham
and Local 3571 of the United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO reach a tentative
agreement for a new contract. The Union ratifies it the following day.

June 22

ANSONIA - 28 stores affiliated with
the Retail Merchants Branch of the Ansonia Chamber of Commerce begin a 2-day
Ansonia Sale Days event.

ANSONIA - Three 90-year old Elm trees
on Main Street, 1 in front of the Evening Sentinel office, the other two
in front of the Post Office, will dismantled because they are in the way of the
new storm sewer replacing the tailrace.

ANSONIA, DERBY, & SEYMOUR - A large
transformer on Roosevelt Drive, belonging to the Housatonic Public Service
Company, explodes twice, sending a fireball and smoke ring into the air
visible as far away as New Haven and Bridgeport. The transformer supplied all of
Ansonia, and most of Seymour, and both of those communities lose power.

SEYMOUR - 92 Seymour property owners
losing their property to the new Route 8 expressway, will be paid a combined
total $1.2 million. This is despite the fact that some of the properties were
obliterated in the 1955 Flood, as the State is paying pre-flood values.

SHELTON - 95 students graduate from
Shelton High School. John Zaskalicky is the valedictorian, while Gay Yeager is
salutatorian.

June 24

SHELTON - 140 people pack into the
small White Hills Baptist Church on School Street, to attend the first service
held there since it closed in 1916. Summer services will continue to be held.

Monday, June 25, 1956

ANSONIA - Main Street is flooded once
again, this time when an 8" water main is being worked on. The main was
unknowingly tied to the 20" main that ran parallel to it, causing water to rush
out of the 8" main when it was breeched. Fire engines are employed at hydrants
above and below the breech, to flow water out of the hydrants and into the river
to relieve pressure on the main while they shut it down. This is the first time
the 20" main is shut down since 1930.

SEYMOUR - Bernard H. Matthies makes a
surprise donation of 4 or 5 acres for a new Seymour Public Library on the west
side of Church Street, at the annual town meeting.

June 26

DERBY - Board of Aldermen empower
Mayor Dirienzo to tear down rear or old portion of
Irving School on
the corner of Fifth and Olivia Streets, which is currently being used as "a
hotel" by homeless people.

DERBY - The Board of Aldermen vote
5-1 to grant John Santangelo and Edward Levy a zoning variance to build a new
shopping center between the Mill Street Connector and Atwater Avenue.
During the hearing, it is claimed that JC Penney is planning on vacating its
Elizabeth Street store. The store denies this three days later.

June 27

ANSONIA - The new Division Street
Bridge will be entirely in Ansonia. It will be 40' wide, with a 6% grade, and
feature 5 spans. The east end will be 200' from the city dump entrance. The west
end will be where a temporary dike is located. Unlike the bridge washed out by
the last year's flood, it will be two lanes wide and feature sidewalks.

June 28

ANSONIA - Ground broken for the new
St. Joseph's Church convent on Jewett Street.

June 30

ANSONIA - American Brass Company, HC
Cook Company , Ansonia Manufacturing, and the SO&C, all begin their 2 week
vacations. 2,000 workers are now off. Hershey Metal started their vacations
yesterday, The only major plant still working is Farrel-Birmingham, which will
have its vacation in August.

ANSONIA - Mrs. Erika P. Ericson, 92,
dies at 284 Wakelee Avenue home. She is the last surviving charter member of St.
Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Born in Sweden, she came to the USA 70 years
ago.

SHELTON - Sgt. Vincent Gudsnak of
Park Street is coming home on this date from his base in Guam, for the funeral
of his infant daughter. He does not arrive home in time for the funeral, but he
narrowly misses being involved in a plane crash. He had tickets to board a
flight on a DC-7 in Los Angeles. However, because he had military priority, he
was given an earlier flight which left several hours later. The DC-7 collided
with another loaded passenger jet over the Grand Canyon, resulting in what was
then the worst air disaster in US history

July

Monday, July 2, 1956

ANSONIA - The City resembles "a
resort", with the number of people walking around Main Street in vacation
attire. A combined total of 2,000 are on summer vacation from American Brass
Company, HC Cook, Ansonia Manufacturing, and Hershey Metals. Many have left for
the shore or mountains. Merchants report mornings are busy.

DERBY - Charlton Press employees find
a small monkey (yes, a monkey) in their plant. The animal is chased throughout
the building for several hours, and is finally trapped when lured by a banana
into a box. The box is given to the Derby Police Department, who trace the
animal to the nearby Center
Drive-In theater. Apparently it was being kept in a cage there, and
escaped over the weekend. The Sentinel headlines this evening "Monkey
Business at Charlton Press".

July 3

ANSONIA - State informs Ansonia there
are no funds immediately available to straighten the Naugatuck River channel
(making it less vulnerable to flooding) or widening the soon to be built Maple
Street Bridge.

ANSONIA - Work begun to lay a 12"
water main up Benz Street from Prindle Avenue up to Kimberly Lane. This is the
beginning of the extension of city water service to the Hilltop section.

DERBY - 400 register at the
Recreation Camp the first week it is open for the season.

SHELTON - YMCA Day Camp Tepee enrolls
136, its largest number ever. The camp is located off Park Street.

SHELTON - 3,000 people, two-thirds of
which are children, attend the City's annual fireworks display at Lafayette
Field. Popeye the Sailor and
other characters provide entertainment prior to the show, and 2,000 free ice
cream sticks are handed out to children. Prior to the festivities there was a
small parade down Howe Avenue.

INDEPENDENCE
DAY

Very quiet in the entire Lower
Naugatuck Valley. Many are on vacation.

July 5

ANSONIA - The battered and crumbling
Bridge Street Bridge, the only one in Ansonia that survived both floods last
year, will be replaced after the Maple Street Bridge is complete. The footings
will be salvaged, but it will have new piers and be the same dimensions as old
one.

OXFORD - Swan Lake off Park Road,
popular with swimmers, is closed to the public by the Swan Lake Development
Corp. They cite the reason as too many people making too much noise after dark.

July 6

Already 2.38" of rain has fallen in
the area this month, which exceeds the entire amount that fell in July of last
year.

DERBY & SHELTON - The speed limits on
the New Haven Avenue portion of Route 34, and the Route 8 expressway in Shelton
and Derby, is raised from 40 mph to 45 mph.

July 8

ANSONIA - Cornerstone of the new
Salvation Army building on the corner of Lester Street and High Street is laid
with ceremonies.

ANSONIA - The Board of Alderman pass
a resolution authorizing the corporate counsel to prepare a bond issue to
acquire property along the Naugatuck River for the new Maple Street Bridge. Also
to prepare bonds for three new rooms at Peck School, and to renovate both
Ansonia and Pine High Schools.

ANSONIA - Judge Albert B. Gardella
dies suddenly at his summer home in Newtown along Lake Zoar. Born in New York
City, his parents relocated to Ansonia when he was an infant, and he remained
the rest of his life. He left school in seventh grade to go work at American
Brass Company. He quickly realized he needed an education, returned to school,
and became one of Ansonia High's hardest working students, becoming the first
Ansonia boy to attend Yale under the Charles H. Pine scholarship. He also played
on Ansonia High's state champion basketball team in 1913. He graduated Yale Law
School in 1921, after serving in the army in World War I. He became a judge in
1931, and resigned two years later to become corporate counsel. At the time of
his death, he was a prominent city attorney.

SEYMOUR - The Kinneytown Dam is now
back in service. The entire eastern half of the dam, which was steel reinforced
earthworks, was washed out in the August 19, 1955 flood. This section has now
been replaced by concrete. The dam is once again impounding water in the
reservoir behind it, known as Forty Acres Pond. Kinneytown Dam supplied the old
Ansonia Canal,
which in turn still supplied the hydroelectric plant of the American Brass
Company in 1956. The western half of the dam burst in 1910, and was with similar
concrete as the eastern half. The western half held during the 1955 Flood, and
since the entire dam is now concrete it is hoped that the danger of it bursting
is minimized. Fifty years later, the dam is still there.

SHELTON - 130 Girl Scouts begin the
summer season at Camp Milcroft, though they are forced to meet at Huntington
School due to heavy rain. A total of 403 girls have registered for summer camp
this year.

July 11

ANSONIA - The City has received more
checks from the Army Corps of Engineers to reimburse damage from the 1955 Floods
- $3,916.48 for repairs to Mead School, and $1,200 for debris clearance.

SEYMOUR - The Town receives checks
totaling $89,695.88 from the Army Corps of Engineers and the State of
Connecticut for repairs to Seymour High School from Flood of 1955.

SHELTON - Local and State police raid
3 restaurants for illegal gambling. The proprietor of the Legion Restaurant, who
is also a State Representative, is arrested with 5 others. Another one is
arrested at Royal Restaurant 140 Center, and two more at Vic's Restaurant. All
three establishments are on Center Street.

Friday, July 13, 1956

ANSONIA - Rev. Sampson Green is
appointed the new pastor of Clinton AME Zion Church.

DERBY - Airman 3rd Class
Alexander Lubinsky Jr., of 44 Buddies Terrace, is killed when his military
transport plane crashes at Fort Dix, NJ, killing 45. He had just left Derby
after completing a 30-day leave the day before. His family was relocated to the
housing project from Ansonia when they lost everything in the Flood of 1955.

DERBY - A violent rainstorm sweeps
the area. Parts of Derby Avenue are under one foot of water. Washouts occur on
Water Street and Marshall Lane.

SHELTON - One lane of the
Viaduct Bridge,
which had been closed for repairs for weeks, finally opens, to the relief of
businesses and residents alike.

July 15

DERBY - A Shelton woman is shot while
attending a wake at the Lewis Funeral Home, on 148 Elizabeth Street. An apparent
stray bullet fired from the Fifth Street side went through window and into her
arm. She wasn't even aware she had been shot initially, and is only slightly
injured. The Police are investigating.

Monday, July 16, 1956

ANSONIA - American Brass Company
employees return from their summer vacation.

SEYMOUR - Dr. Nancy Turner Deduk
opens a pediatric clinic in the Casagrande building at 135 Main Street. She is
the first female doctor in Seymour's history.

July 17

OXFORD - A special Town Meeting is
held over a proposal to reopen Larkey Road from the Heidecamp property to the
old railroad bed is defeated 36-30. The road was closed in 1935.

July 19

DERBY - David O'Keefe of Tenth
Street, a member of both Derby Board of Alderman and Commissioner of Public
Works, has an apparent heart attack while driving on Derby side of Derby-Shelton
Bridge and dies. This is Derby's first traffic fatality since February 25, 1949.

SEYMOUR - Homer Fowler, a member of
the Seymour Emergency Disaster Committee, appeals to the Board of Selectmen that
$18,000 remaining in the disaster treasury from the 1955 floods should be used
to help people still slowly getting their properties into livable condition on
Derby Avenue and Pine Street.

SEYMOUR - State official proposes a
temporary bridge for Broad Street, which will be 770 feet long, 2 lanes wide,
with sidewalks. It will be made of timber and steel.

July 20

OPERATION ALERT 1956 - The biggest
Civil Defense test held up to that time in the USA occurs on this date. After a
surprise Soviet nuclear attack on Hawaii and Puerto Rico, 73 US and 25 Canadian
cities are struck by nuclear bombs, including seven Connecticut cities including
Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, and Hartford. Derby, Ansonia, and Shelton,
while not targeted, are deemed uninhabitable due to radioactive fallout. All had
to seek shelter at 4:10 PM, when the hypothetical bombs were dropped - including
pedestrians. Drivers were instructed to pull over and seek the nearest shelter
until the "all clear" was given. There is some confusion in Derby because the
"all clear" never sounded. In Seymour, Boy Scouts and others are made up to
resemble injured people at Housatonic Lumber and Tingue manufacturing. The
"victims" had to be removed through windows. A simulated 40,000 people were
evacuated from New Haven to Oxford, and the CD radio in that town was manned by
an Explorer Post. In Shelton, a number of cars had to be stopped in the suburbs,
as they were speeding trying to get home before the alert.

ANSONIA - Derby's Hull Dye Works is
leasing 40,000 sq ft. of the former Ansonia Wire & Cable Co plant for storage of
finished goods, and future bleaching and dyeing. The plant complex is located on
Main & East Main Streets. The area Hull is leasing is Plant 3, which fronts East
Main.

DERBY - Fifty editors from France,
Italy, and Switzerland arrive in Derby as guests of John Santangelo. Besides New
York City, Derby is the only East Coast stop of their US tour. The Europeans are
given keys to the city, and served diner at Mr. Santangelo's
Charlton
Press.

SEYMOUR - 32 flood evacuee tenants at
the Kerite Court temporary housing off Pearl Street are told they must vacate by
April 1, 1957.

SEYMOUR - Kerite announces it will
discontinue its factory whistle at change of shifts, though it will continue to
be used as a fire alarm.

July 21

DERBY - The New Haven Foundation
announces a $20,000 gift to Griffin Hospital from the Gates Memorial Fund for
expansion and improvement.

Monday, July 23, 1956

This has been one of the wettest
Julys in years. 5.46" of rain has fallen thus far. The total at the end of the
month will be 6.18".

ANSONIA - Democrat Joseph Doyle,
clerk of the Board of Assessors, announces candidacy to replace Mayor Sheasby,
who will not seek reelection.

SEYMOUR - The flood ravaged Seymour
High School is on schedule for a September reopening.

SHELTON - The Board of Aldermen vote
to change the zoning of a Brook Street near Howe Avenue from R-5 to CB-3, so a
car wash can open there.

July 24

DERBY - Residents living near the
east bank of the Naugatuck River in the Division Street area ask the Board of
Aldermen to install a retaining wall to protect them from floods.

SEYMOUR - The Board of Education
designates 3 member committee to look for an elementary school site in the
Skokorat area. They also vote to ask Oxford to jointly build a new High School.

July 26

ANSONIA - Firemen of the newly
organized Hilltop Hose Company complete negotiations with the Orange Fire
Department to purchase of a used 450 gallon per minute Diamond T Suburbanite
pumper. The firemen will now canvass the district to raise the funds to buy it.

July 27

SHELTON - Retired Rev. Carl A.
Carlson arrives home at Elim Park. He was aboard the Swedish ocean liner
Stockholm when it rammed
the Italian ocean liner
Andrea Doria off Nantucket on July 25, causing the later's sinking. A total
of 48 were killed or died of injuries. He grants an exclusive interview to the
Evening Sentinel the following day, describing the collision as "a
tremendous shock, and it seemed everything stopped at once. It was a terrible
shock mentally and physically and at first the Stockholm
was filled with the screams of women and children, but soon afterward it became
calm”. Rev. Carlson was on his way to Sweden to visit his family, and has
already booked passage on another Swedish ocean liner to convey him there next
week.

August

Wednesday, August 1, 1956

SHELTON - The estate of Miss
Elizabeth Nichols, who died on December 12, 1944, was held in a trust for her
cousin. Now that this cousin has died, the rest goes to her former chauffeur, a
Milford resident, after several legacies get paid, including $1000 to the Girl
Scout Council. The estate values $77,548, a huge sum of money in 1956.

August 2

SEYMOUR - Fifty Derby Avenue and Pine
Street residents attend the Seymour Emergency Disaster Committee meeting. They
ask that they be given assistance to bring their properties back to their
pre-flood appearance.

SEYMOUR - Oakville-Watertown beats
the Seymour All-Stars 8-3, in the District 5 Little League championship.

August 3

ANSONIA - The Railroad Property, a
large strip of land between Bridge Street and
Canal Street, has
been appraised for $100,080. The City wants to take over the property and put a
278 car parking lot there.

SHELTON - Fire causes $6,500 damage
to a home on Yataka Trail in Pine Rock Park. It takes the Shelton and Stratford
fire departments two hours to control the blaze.

August 4

ANSONIA - All but one of the several
houses in the way of the east approach to the new Division Street Bridge has
been torn down.

DERBY - Mayor Anthony Dirienzo is
discharged from Deaconess Hospital in Brookline, MA, where he has been a patient
since July 13 after undergoing observation, surgery, and treatment. He is
brought back by Storm Ambulance. In a brief statement to the Sentinel he
says he is feeling fine.

OXFORD - A water carnival on Swan
Lake, conducted by the Swan Lake Estates' Association, draws record crowd.

Monday, August 6, 1956

SEYMOUR - Popular television
personality Ed Sullivan
is involved in a serious head-on automobile accident on Derby Avenue, 1000 yards
south of Cedar Street, at 1:25 AM. Three others, as well as the Ansonia driver
of the other vehicle, are seriously hurt. Mr. Sullivan's plane had made an
unscheduled landing in Stratford, due to foggy weather. He was on his way, with
his guests, to his Southbury country home.

DERBY -
Ed Sullivan, and the
Ansonia driver who struck his car, are both in fair condition at Griffin
Hospital. Mr. Sullivan has chest and rib injuries. The three others in Mr.
Sullivan's car, including his son in law, are in serious condition at Griffin.
The switchboard is flooded with national press inquiries, and numerous reporters
descend on the hospital. A private detective is guarding his hospital room.
Numerous telegrams wishing Mr. Sullivan a speedy recovery from big names
in the entertainment world also pour in - one of the first was from
Jackie Gleason. More
on the accident
here.

ANSONIA - The Main Street widening
project begins with the breaking up of the sidewalk near the old Methodist
Church.

SEYMOUR - Town officials confirms
State changed plans for the temporary Broad Street Bridge over the weekend. Many
are disappointed to hear that the proposed bridge, which was supposed to carry
automobiles, will now only be a footbridge. It is unofficially reported that the
State balked at the $150,000 to $175,000 price tag of a 700' long automobile
span.

August 7

SHELTON - The East Village Land
Company, a development firm, is incorporated.

August 8

SHELTON - The Board of Education
votes to ask the Board of Aldermen to study the feasibility of adding classrooms
toHuntington School,
as well as a new wing to the new Shelton High School on Perry Hill Road.

August 9

SEYMOUR - The storefront of Rogol's
men's clothing store on 141 Main Street is remodeled. The entire front is now
glass and green aluminum. The store has been in that location since 1925, while
the business started in 1910. It was very badly damaged in last year's floods.

SEYMOUR - Town businessmen bitterly
complain at a Selectmen's' meeting about the State plan for the Broad Street
footbridge. They want a permanent vehicular bridge now.

August 10

DERBY - Ed Sullivan's son-in-law,
receives surgery for his broken left leg at Griffin Hospital. The telegrams and
flowers have not ceased to pour in since Mr. Sullivan was admitted four days
ago. The local flower shops are busy making and delivering floral arrangements
from out of town well-wishers.

DERBY - A railcar loaded with Milky
Way candy bars catches fire while traveling south, and comes to a stop at the
end of Burtville Avenue. Three firemen are overcome by smoke. $17,000 worth of
candy bars lost.

August 11

SEYMOUR - The State accepting bids to
demolish flood damaged lower Main Street homes, between street numbers 7 and 25.

Monday, August 13, 1956

DERBY -
Ed Sullivan is discharged
from Griffin Hospital, after being involved in an automobile accident in Seymour
the week before. He faces a throng of reporters and photographers as he climbs
into his automobile, which is driven by World War II war hero
Col. Henry Mucci.

August 14

DERBY - The United Jewish Building
Fund of the Associated Towns has bought the Derby Aerie of Eagles property, and
the Hyde home next door, on Elizabeth Street. They want to build a synagogue,
community center, and school there.

August 15

ANSONIA - A 14 year old boy has been
admitted to Grace-New Haven Hospital with
Bulbar Polio - the first
case this year for the hospital. He did not get any polio shots, because his
parents thought they were only for ages 12 and under. His condition is serious
but not critical.

ANSONIA - Mayor Sheasby declared
August 19, 1956 a day of prayer and thanksgiving, on the first anniversary of
the Black Friday flood, and urges all residents to go to churches to pray it
does not happen again.

ANSONIA - The Sentinel
features a picture of a crane removing a pile of flood-damaged cars from the
municipal parking lot on
Canal Street. The automobiles had not
been formally abandoned by owners, which is why they have not moved until now.
In the background, the Railroad Passenger Station still stands, abandoned and
with smashed windows. It has since been replaced by an unpopular platform.

SEYMOUR - The State informs Town
officials that Seymour will get a new footbridge to replace the Broad Street
Bridge in October, which in turn will be replaced by a new vehicular span in
1957.

August 16

ANSONIA, SEYMOUR, & OXFORD - The
Ansonia Red Cross announces the National chapter spent over one million dollars
connected to the 1955 floods. $700,000 was spent assisting 700 Ansonia families,
while the remainder was spent on Seymour and Oxford families. Based upon the
current rate that the Ansonia chapter receives donations, it would take 200
years to reimburse the National chapter, if they were asked.

ANSONIA - The 14 year old polio
victim dies in Grace New Haven Hospital. When this news breaks, many worried
parent flood local doctors' offices, trying to obtain the vaccine for their
older teenagers.

ANSONIA - The recently completed St.
Joseph's auditorium in Warsaw Park will be used for first time today, by a
pianist raising funds for St. Joseph's Church on Jewett Street. At the time of
its completion it was the largest auditorium in the Valley.

August 17

ANSONIA - There are 25 more vacant
stores downtown since the August 19, 1955 flood. Bridge Street Bridge.

ANSONIA - Construction on the control
area at the NIKE site
at airport is in advanced stages. Construction on the launch area at Deerfield
Lane and Osborn Road has slowed by rock ledge. A 12' fence surrounds the area
with signs reading "Government Property, Keep Out"

SEYMOUR - With the first anniversary
of the Black Friday flood approaching, the Sentinel reminds readers that
the State of Emergency was never lifted for Broad Street, Pine Street, and Derby
Avenue. All still show visible damage from flood.

SHELTON - Mayor Malachi LeMay is at
the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Board of Aldermen president
Charles Frager is acting in his absence, despite the fact he underwent surgery
and is doing so from his bed at Griffin Hospital.

SHELTON - The Little League field for
the new South League is completed at Sunnyside Park.

Sunday, August 19

The first anniversary of the Black
Friday flood passes quietly. Many flock to the churches.

SHELTON - A 60'x40' barn on the
Joseph Block farm on East Village Road is destroyed by fire.

Wednesday, August 22, 1956

4 people are rushed to Grace-New
Haven Hospital with suspected polio,
including a 9 year old Shelton girl, and a 32 year old Ansonia businessman who
lives in Derby.

SEYMOUR - The High School, which was
badly damaged in last year's floods, should be ready to open in time for the new
school year.

SHELTON - A 25 year old Willoughby
Road man is arrested when State and Shelton police raid his home and find two
stills.

August 23

ANSONIA - The State to give Ansonia
$3,088 for fire equipment ruined in last year's floods, as well as $6,226 for
flood losses at Mead School.

DERBY - Beard Construction
Company of Shelton is building a sand processing plant just north of the Main
Street bridge, on the west bank of the Naugatuck River. It will process sand
taken from the riverbed.

SHELTON - The Board of Aldermen
building committee recommends an 8-room addition to
Huntington School
and a whole new wing for the Shelton High School on Perry Hill Road.

August 24

ANSONIA - The New Smith Building will
be completed at Main & East Main Streets around October 15. It will be Ansonia's
first fully air conditioned building, located on the site of Anson Phelps' old
copper mill, which had been built in the 1840s.

OXFORD - A Seymour pilot makes a
forced landing on an open lot on Riggs Street when his single engine plane
stalls at 3000 feet. He is uninjured.

August 25

ANSONIA - 3000 watch the second
annual "Music in the Air" drum and bugle competition at Nolan Field, featuring
five of the best bands in Northeast, sponsored by the Sutter-Terlizzi Post
American Legion.. The winner is the Old Colonials of Kingston, NY.

ANSONIA - Mrs. Louise M. Clarke dies
in Portsmouth, NH, at age 86. She was superintendent of Julia Day Nursery from
1915 to 1950.

August 26

ANSONIA - Reception held by the
Valley Clergy Club at the AME Zion Church, welcoming the new Clinton AME
minister, Rev. Sampson M. Green.

SHELTON - Melvin H. Roe, of Trumbull,
dies at age 40. He was the owner of the Derby Tank and Welding Company on
Brewster Lane, and the Branford Tank and Heating Company, also in Shelton.

Monday, August 27, 1956

ANSONIA - The Board of Education is
informed that neither Ansonia High School or Pine High School will be ready to
open until September 10, due to work being done on the classrooms.

ANSONIA - Construction begins on the
High Point housing project on Hill Street. Two model homes are under
construction - one ranch and one cape.

OXFORD - Residents approve a 10-year
pact to send their high school students to Seymour at a Town Meeting. Also,
grammar schools will not open until September 17 because the new units at Oxford
School will not be ready until then.

August 28

ANSONIA - The last Wakelee family
leaves Wakelee Avenue when Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. and their 3 sons leave 257
Wakelee Avenue for Pennsylvania. The family has been there since the 1840s, and
the street gets its name from the Wakelee farm, which was located on the upper
part of the street.

DERBY - Two small boys climb into
boats they find moored near Riverview Park in Shelton, and start floating down
river. They start screaming once they realize they're heading for the Ousatonic
Dam. Two staff members from the
Recreation Camp jump into the camp boat The Kiwanian and
rescue them. One was only 200' away from going over the dam.

August 30

ANSONIA - The Cameron Electrical
Manufacturing Company sells its building north of the Ansonia Post Office to the
Ansonia Savings Bank. The bank plans to raze it for parking.

DERBY - The largest girders for the
new Connecticut Turnpike bridge over the Housatonic River are being unloaded at
the Derby freight station, as it has the best facility to handle them in the
region. The girders are then trucked over the Commodore Hull Bridge, and down
River Road to Stratford. The
Connecticut Turnpike (I-95) is under construction at this time in history.

SEYMOUR - Residents of Skokorat have
formed a new civic group, the Skokorat Area Association, for civic betterment
and social functions.

August 31

Only .98" of rain fell in August
1956, compared to 15.86" during the flood month of August 1955.

September

Saturday, September 1, 1956

ANSONIA -
Hilltop Hose Company receives
the keys to its first fire engine, a used Diamond T 450 gallon pumper, from its
previous owners the Orange Fire Department, at ceremonies at the
Ansonia Airport.

DERBY - Paul Mester closes the East
Side Pharmacy at 14-16 Main Street, after running it for 42 years. The landmark
building has been sold to the State to make way for the new Naugatuck
River Bridge (the current Main Street/Route 34 Bridge is located south of
where the bridge was in 1956. The roadway goes through Mester's pharmacy).

ANSONIA - Work begins on replacing
the Division Street Bridge, destroyed in last year's August flood.

ANSONIA - A 100 year old barn and 12
tons of hay are destroyed by a two-alarm fire off Marshall Lane. Residents of
Bartholomew Road are forced to wet down their roofs with garden hoses due to
flying embers. The Ansonia, Derby, and Woodbridge fire departments respond, and
are forced to carry water to the scene in tankers due to lack of hydrants. This
is the first alarm for the Hilltop Hose Company's newly acquired fire engine,
which they purchased only two days ago.

September 5

ANSONIA - City schools open. The
number of students per school who attend on the first day are - Larkin School:
237, Lincoln School:
303, Mead School: 109, Nolan School: 325, Peck School: 311, Willis School: 392,
Assumption Roman Catholic: 690, St. Joseph's Roman Catholic: 326. Figures for
Ansonia High School and Pine High School are not available as they do not start
until September 10.

DERBY - City schools open. The number
of students per school who attend on the first day are - Derby High School: 421,
Irving School:
308, Lincoln School: 242,
Franklin School: 265, Hawthorne School: 247, St. Michael's Roman
Catholic: 439, St. Mary's Roman Catholic: 654.

SHELTON - City schools open. The
number of students per school who attend on the first day are - Shelton High
School: 567, Ferry School:
299, Fowler School: 381, Commodore Hull School: 172,
Huntington School:
630, Lafayette School: 267, Sunnyside School: 316.

September 7

Although 2.57" of rain falls in a 24
hour period, the Naugatuck River rises only slightly, due to dredging of it's
channel by the Army Corps of Engineers. Has this occured after the August 1955
flood, before the dredging, it could have been devastating.

ANSONIA - The American Brass Company
has set up its own flood warning gauges along the Naugatuck River at its
Waterbury, Torrington, and Ansonia plants, and has drawn contingency plans if
the river rises to a certain point.

September 8

DERBY & SHELTON - Shelton Metal
Products, located on 304 Seymour Avenue in Derby, has bought land on Shelton's
Access Road (which runs parallel to Bridgeport Avenue). The firm plans to build
a new plant there.

SHELTON - Mrs. Blanche Zuckerman,
president of the Shelton Yacht and Cabana Club, plans to purchase 75 acres from
the Swedish Baptist Home and build a $1,000,000 country club with a 3/4 acre
swimming pool and restaurant facilities, along 300 boat marina with a 600'
waterfront, and a hotel. Although not every one of these projects are realized,
this is the very beginning of the nearly 50 year history of Pinecrest Country
Club.

DERBY - Mayor Anthony Direnzo
survives a challenge in the Democratic Caucus from Vincent DeRosa by a vote of
1488-1015. DeRosa had presented a full slate against Direnzo, but the only
winner on his slate was Fred Pepe, who won the 3rd Ward seat by one vote.

SEYMOUR - The State confirms that
formal condemnation procedures have begun, at the request of Seymour's Health
Officer, to remove flood damaged structures at 7, 9-13, 17-19, and 25 Main
Street.

September 12

ANSONIA - Ansonia residents spent
$7,694,000 on food in 1955, averaging $1400 per family. The New England average
is $1270.

ANSONIA - Joseph A. Doyle defeats
John J. Ready at the Democratic Caucus at the
Capitol Theater by a vote of 808-536.

SEYMOUR - The pen and inkwells at
Seymour Post Office have been replaced by new ballpoint pens, attached to the
desks by 2' long chains.

September 13

ANSONIA - There are 444 students at
Ansonia High School, 184 at Pine High School, and 410 at the Junior High School.
Combined with the elementary schools, this makes a total of 2,815 public school
students, which combined with the Catholic school students totals 3,731.

SHELTON - Two construction workers
are injured when a pneumatic drill sets off a blasting cap in a hole being
driven for a utility pole on Shelton Avenue. One of the injured, an Ansonia man,
may lose sight in both eyes.

September 14

ANSONIA - The Condon and Murphy
Building on East Main Street, between the new Smith building and Ansonia City
Hall, will be sold to Joseph Smith for about $45,000. It was being used as a
storage warehouse. Years before it was a stable for a trucking company.
Originally it was the carbarn for the electric locomotive that ran between
Ansonia and the Derby Docks.

September 15

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - The season
begins with Ansonia defeating Leavenworth Tech at Nolan Field 33-7. Derby High
School beats North Haven at Coon Hollow 6-0.

DERBY - Family of three nearly
asphyxiated from a gas leak in their in Minerva Street flat.

DERBY - Ground broken for the new
Storm Engine Co. #2 firehouse, in the yard of the old Irving School off Olivia
Street.

OXFORD - Oxford students return to
school. Because of overcrowding, in addition to Oxford Center School classes are
also being held in the town library, the Grange Hall, and the Congregational
Parish House. A total of 513 are enrolled.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Shelton High
School defeats Seymour High School 13-6 in French Memorial Park in Seymour.

September 18

ANSONIA - The appearance of tall
grass growing alongside the Naugatuck River, where none grew before, has some
wondering if it is cleaner now than it was before 1955 floods.

ANSONIA - The New Haven Foundation
gives the Naugatuck Valley Salvation Army a $3000 grant toward completing their
new building at Lester and High Streets.

DERBY - Roofing contractor and City
resident Arthur J. Fagan, president of A. J. Fagan, Inc., is seriously injured
when he falls 20 feet from the rear of Derby Methodist Church.

September 19

DERBY - Miss Isabel M. Smith dies at
the age 97 in Harford Hospital. She was the granddaughter of Fitch Smith, who
was the brother of Sheldon Smith. The Smith brothers, along with John Lewis and
Anson Phelps (for whom Ansonia is named), were considered the founding members
of the venture that created Birmingham within the Town of Derby in the
1830s.

SHELTON - Rev. Martin J. McDermott,
an assistant at St. Joseph's Church, is named chaplain of the State Catholic War
Veterans.

September 20

SEYMOUR - The Board of Selectmen
approves the numbering of houses on Bungay Road.

SHELTON - St. Lawrence Church pastor
Rev. Alfred J. Carmody announces a $75,000 capital campaign to build a new
combination church and parish center off Shelton Avenue will launch on October
14. The new church will be a "modern adaptation of the Norman style suitable to
its country setting".

September 22

DERBY - The Derby High School band
unveils their new uniforms at today's football game at Coon Hollow Park.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Shelton High
School upsets Ansonia High School 13-7 at Lafayette Field in Shelton. Derby High
School ties Lyman Hall of Wallingford 6-6 at Coon Hollow Park in Derby.

Monday, September 24, 1956

DERBY - Two Shelton boys, aged 9 and
15, climb up 45' ladder extension they took nearby, to get into Sam's Sport Shop
on 294 Main Street. The nine year old does so from the First Street side, which
is actually four stories up, and had he not weighed so little the ladder
probably would have snapped and he would have fallen to his death. Once inside,
he lets the 15 year old in through the front door on the Main Street side. The
two steal 4 guns & cash. They then go to Island Park, fire one of the guns, and
left for Shelton. In the uproar that follows, both turn themselves in soon
afterward. Chief Manion calls it one of the most spectacular burglaries he has
seen in his career.

September 25

SHELTON - The Star Pin Company marks
its 90th anniversary with a reception at its Canal Street factory.

SEYMOUR - It is recommended that the
new Route 8 pass over the
Second and Third
Street area, since most of the dwellings are uninhabitable due to the
flood, and any area left over be made into parking.

September 27

SEYMOUR - A a special town meeting,
residents vote to recommend that the relocated Route 8 Expressway over Second
and Third Street area be on a steel base, rather than on dirt fill.

SEYMOUR - At the same town meeting,
the Board of Selectmen is authorized to secure an option to purchase the Hutwohl
property on Skokorat Street for a school, which will be called Paul Chatfield
School.

September 28

ANSONIA - The city and state reach a
tentative agreement on the new Maple Street Bridge. The western approaches will
be north of the old approaches, eliminating need for taking seizing properties
south of it. The Vatelas and Shays properties, where structures that were
demolished right after the flood once stood, will be taken for the western
approaches. On the east side, one of the three Gardella buildings will be
seized.

ANSONIA - Farrel-Birmingham receives
2 huge new cranes which arrive on several flatcars for its Ansonia plant. The
cranes can lift 75 and 60 tons respectively.

ANSONIA - A fire which started in an
oil burner in the basement of the Tremont Building on Main Street and Tremont
Street causes $3000 in damage to the first floor dry cleaner and drug store, and
the third floor Valley Dress Company, a garment factory Valley Dress Company.
There is no damage to the second floor Tremont Lanes bowing alleys.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - The Branford
Hornets defeat Derby 32-6 at Coon Hollow Park.

September 29

SHELTON - The Bridgeport Hydraulic
Company buys 128.5 acres on the west side of the railroad tracks near
Birchbank, for protection of the Housatonic well fields.

DERBY - A potential strike involving
300 employees of Housatonic Dying and Printing Company on Roosevelt Drive is
averted by a last minute settlement between the company and union.

October

Monday, October 1, 1956

ANSONIA - The Church of the
Assumption fires a up a huge new oil burner for the first time, after it was
installed by the Derby Coal and Oil Company. It replaced the Church's original
boiler which dated to 1910, and had been converted from coal.

DERBY - Frances Kellogg's will
stipulates that 1/3 of her fortune goes to Derby Neck Library. Half of her
fortune, as well as most of Osbonredale Farms, goes to the State Park and Forest
Commission to maintain the new Osbornedale State Park. 1/6 will go to the UCONN
animal husbandry program. Her chauffer and his wife, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Connors,
retain lifetime use of her home at 500 Hawthorne Avenue. Upon their decease, it
too will go to the State of Connecticut.

SHELTON - A recently renovated house
on Healy Crossroads is completely gutted by fire.

October 2

DERBY - A 65 year old employee of Mt.
St. Peter's Cemetery is seriously injured when he falls off the back of a truck
at the cemetery.

October 3

ANSONIA - Mayor Sheasby cuts the
ceremonial ribbon for new the High Point housing development on High Street. A&H
Construction uses the occasion to announce the donation to the City of 3.5 acres
for recreation, including a tennis court and baseball diamond off Prindle Avenue
between Ford Street and Benz Street.

DERBY - Mr. Charles Connors, the
chauffer of the late Frances Kellogg is found dead in bed early this morning. It
was only announced two days before that he and his wife inherited $5,000 and
lifetime use of the Kellogg homestead from Mrs. Kellogg.

October 4

ANSONIA - Ansonia honors John Cooke
of North State Street at Rapp's Paradise Inn in Derby. He is on the
Olympic-bound Yale Rowing Crew.

DERBY - The East End Hose Company
will buy a water tanker, due to the lack of hydrants in the area.

DERBY - Storm Engine Company
Ambulance Corps purchases a new Cadillac ambulance and puts it in service today.
It replaces the corps' first ambulance, a 1948 Buick Flexible, which will be
kept as a spare.

October 5

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Shelton beats
the East Haven Yellowjackets at Lafayette Field 21-0.

ANSONIA - Eugene Diotelevi and
Virginia Frattalone are married at Holy Rosary Church. At their reception at AM
Hall in Derby, they have an impressive 200 pound wedding cake that looks exactly
like Holy Rosary Church, with figurines of the wedding party in front.

DERBY - A 20 year old auxiliary
fireman is seriously injured when he falls off the ladder truck near its
firehouse. The truck was responding to a fire alarm box on High Street, which
turned out to be a false alarm. A priest from St. Michael's, the fire company's
chaplain, accompanied him all the way to Griffin Hospital.

DERBY -
Housatonic Council is considering
purchasing a 200 acre area, including a 75 acre lake, in the town of Goshen to
serve as a Boy Scout campsite.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Ansonia beats
the Stamford Black Knights in an away game 14-7. Seymour upsets Southington 13-7
at French Park.

October 7

The traveling Eisenhower bandwagon,
designed to reelect the President, passes through the Valley.

Monday, October 8, 1956

ANSONIA - The Board of Aldermen votes
not to accept the Hilltop Hose Company into the Ansonia Fire Department at this
time. The Board does vote to increase fire protection in the Hilltop area,
however, by digging new water holes. The Board also votes to ask the
New Haven Railroad
to tear down the old passenger station that was destroyed in the 1955 Flood, as
it is a health risk. In other matters, the Board votes to ask the water company
to fluoridate the City water supply, to buy land near Peck School and property
off Grove Street, and to accept the 3.5 acres off Prindle Avenue gifted by the
A&H Construction Company on October 3.

SHELTON - A 67-year old Ansonia man
is struck by a car at the west end of the viaduct bridge, and is carried all the way to
the other side of the bridge. He dies of broken neck. The Derby man who struck
him is hospitalized for emotional trauma.

October 9

ANSONIA - The contract to raze the
old Ansonia railroad passenger station is awarded to the Beard Construction
Company in Shelton. Work will begin immediately.

SHELTON - Frank Cica of the Little
Elephants Republican Club wins the City's Republican primary, narrowly defeating
Henry J. DeMarco 1221-1203. Ironically, DeMarco won both the First and Third
Wards, but Cica's overwhelming victory in the Second Ward ensured his victory.

October 11

ANSONIA - The poles that will
eventually hold Ansonia's Christmas decorations are erected along Main Street.

ANSONIA - A new 3-position telephone
switchboard has been installed at Farrel-Birmingham. It will serve both the
Ansonia and Derby plants.

DERBY - The John H. Collins Post,
American Legion, breaks ground for a new hall on the former Warner property on
Caroline Street.

SEYMOUR - First Selectman Henry F.
Mannweiler starts the second year of his 13th consecutive term. He will not seek
reelection, and has held the office of First Selectman since 1931, longer than
anyone in Seymour. He also serves as the Chief of Police and is in charge of
town charity cases.

October 13

ANSONIA - Popular Shelton
policeman/musician Chester Karkut suffers possible fractured ribs and contusions
when an out of control car rams a parked car, then his, on Wakelee Avenue. The
man driving the other car is arrested for driving under the influence, and
reckless driving.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Ansonia
defeats the Wilby High School Wildcats 53-0 at Nolan Field. Shelton defeats the
Southington Knights in an away game 14-0. Seymour defeats Derby 24-7 at French
Memorial Park. Two Derby players are removed from the field by ambulance.

October 14

ANSONIA - Archbishop Henry J. O'Brien
of Hartford blesses new the new branch offices of the Diocesan Bureau of Social
Service in the Blanko Building on 36 East Main Street.

ANSONIA - A woman shoots her husband
in the arm at their 11 Factory Street home during a tussle after they return
home from a dance. He's in fair condition. Both are arrested.

SEYMOUR - Archbishop Henry J. O'Brien
of Hartford conducts high mass at St. Augustine's Church for its centennial
anniversary celebration. Hundreds attend, including 27 visiting priests.

SHELTON - Bishop Laurence Shehan of
Bridgeport celebrates mass for St. Lawrence Church in the
Huntington School
auditorium to start $75,000 campaign to build a new church off Shelton Avenue.

SHELTON - The Shelton War
Memorial dedicated with impressive ceremonies and a small parade, at Riverview
Park. The keynote speaker is James Hartman. He was the first Shelton man in
action in World War II, and was Shelton's only
Bataan Death March
survivor.

Monday, October 15, 1956

ANSONIA - Demolition begins on the
vacant, flood damaged 72-year old Ansonia passenger station. People are
dissatisfied because the new platform does not sell tickets or maintain a
counter, and people have to make a toll call to New Haven to get train
information.

SEYMOUR - Seymour Redevelopment
agency recommends taking all of Pine Street for the proposed expansion of
Seymour High School.

SEYMOUR - Work starts on the
temporary footbridge on Broad Street. This replaces the demolished, flood
damaged bridge that was here. A new bridge is scheduled to be built next year.

SHELTON - Ground broken for the new
A.H. Nilson Company factory at the corner of Bridgeport Avenue and
Healy's Crossroads
in Well's Hollow.

October 20

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Shelton beats
Lyman Hall of Wallingford 37-19 at Lafayette Field. Seymour defeats North Haven
32-18 at French Memorial Park.

Monday, October 22, 1956

ANSONIA - 146 new homes authorized in
Ansonia in the fiscal year that ended on October 14.

SEYMOUR - The Chamber of Commerce
votes to send a letter to the Governor, urging that the new Route 8 highway be
on a steel bridge, rather than on fill, when it passes through the
Second Street
and Third Street areas.

SHELTON - St. Lawrence Church
announces $92,525 has been raised for its new church fund, smashing it's goal of
$75,000.

October 25

ANSONIA - Court of Common Pleas in
Waterbury finds the City Board of Zoning Appeals acted illegally when it granted
Keyes Funeral Home permission to open on 20 Lester Street, because the area is
zoned residential. This is despite the fact that there was another funeral home
right next door, that was "grandfathered" in before the zoning took effect.
Keyes Funeral Home was previously on High Street, and it was destroyed in the
August 19, 1955 flood.

DERBY - A man eating at a Main Street
restaurant collapses after choking on corned beef, and begins to lose
consciousness. He is saved from choking to death by a crew from Storm Ambulance,
who dislodges the blockage and administer oxygen.

October 26

SEYMOUR - Demolition begins on
buildings damaged in the August 19, 1955 flood on lower Main Street.

October 27

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Ansonia
destroys Derby 40-0 at Coon Hollow Park. Gene Smalls scores 27 points in the
game, making him the highest scoring player in the State up to this point in the
season, with a total of 123 points. Seymour beats Branford 35-2 at French
Memorial Park. Shelton slams North Haven 48-0 in an away game.

October 28

ANSONIA - The new Salvation Army
building is dedicated on Lester Street.

Monday, October 29, 1956

ANSONIA - David Samuel Levine, a
former Board of Education member and former city sheriff, suffers a fatal heart
attack while playing cards on 374 Main Street. The City's present sheriff gets
so upset he suffers a heart attack, too, but is apparently revived at Griffin
Hospital.

October 31

DERBY - A truck ridiculously
overloaded with Christmas trees has it's load shift while passing under the
Route 8 Bridge on Main Street, and almost tips over. The truck is shored up, and
part of it's load is transferred to another truck.

SEYMOUR & OXFORD - The Naugatuck
Valley River Control Commission approves construction of $2,478,000 dam at
Bladen's Brook in Seymour one mile above its joining with the Naugatuck River,
and another costing $1,412,000 on the Little River on Oxford - 2.3 miles from its
meeting with Naugatuck River. Both dams are intended to protect from floods.

SHELTON - Star Pin Company will buy
the machinery, inventory, trade names, and goodwill of the DeLong Hook and Eye
Co. of Philadelphia, from Scovill Manufacturing of Waterbury. DeLong makes
straight pins and safety pins.

HALLOWE'EN - The 1.68" of rain puts a
damper on Hallowe'en, keeping many indoors. One false alarm is pulled in
Ansonia. In Shelton 94 boys and girls are successfully called during the
Hallowe'en telephone hour by the Shelton Playground Commission. A 12 year old
boy falls from running board of car on Hawthorne Avenue, Shelton, while trick or
treating - taken to Griffin Hospital with possible broken bones and concussion.

November

Thursday, November 1, 1956

DERBY - Airman Joseph Moccia, 19, of
17 Seventh Street, dies at at Lackland Air Force
Base in San Antonio, Texas, after being blown off back of a truck by the
backwash of a 4 engine airplane. He graduated from Derby High School in 1954,
and was co-captain of the baseball and basketball teams his senior year.

DERBY - Medical laboratory opens on
17 Elizabeth Street.

November 2

ANSONIA - The State Highway
Department is designing a new Maple Street Bridge to replace the one destroyed
in the August 1955 flood. The roadway will be 30' wide plus two sidewalks, and
will be higher than the old span.

SEYMOUR - The Seymour High School
Student Council sponsors a Spook Swing dance at the High School's
gymnasium. This is the first event held at the gymnasium since it was renovated
after the 1955 Flood.

November 3

DERBY - Derby Savings Bank surpasses
$30,000,000 in assets.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Ansonia
defeats Torrington in an away game 25-12. Derby beats New Canaan 13-0 in an away
game. Seymour beats East Haven 13-9, its first victory against that team in 10
years, in an away game.

November 4

OXFORD - Hubert L. Stoddard presents
the Oxford Congregational Church with a hi-fi sound system that can play
carillon music that can be heard 3 miles from church. Choir and organ music can
be heard, too

Monday, November 5, 1956

ANSONIA - The State Department of
Education has approved $70,189.64 for remodeling and adding a gymnasium to
Lincoln School, and $27,852.81 for remodeling Mead School in Ansonia.

OXFORD - The Board of Education is
discussing shifting the two 4th grade classes currently in the Oxford School
auditorium, and the 6th grade class currently at at Grange Hall, to Beacon
Falls.

SHELTON - The new Ansonia-Derby
Telephone Directory features the Edward J. Lynch Building at Laurel Heights
Sanatorium on the cover. Dr. Lynch was superintendent and medical director of
Laurel Heights from 1916 to 1954.

November 6 - Election Day
See the Ansonia entry for links for the federal and state races. The press
referred to this election as the "Eisenhower Landslide", as Republicans
benefited from the President's popularity.

ANSONIA - The Evening Sentinel offers
up to date telephone updates on the 1956 elections. 12,321 calls are received
between 6:30 PM and 2:25 AM.

ANSONIA - The City backs
President Eisenhower over
Democratic challenger
Adlai Stevenson 6191-3539. Ansonia also backs Republican incumbent Senator
Prescott Bush (father
of the 41st President, grandfather of the 43rd President) in his successful
reelection bid over Thomas
Dodd (father of Senator Christopher Dodd) 4822-4636. Republicans also wins
the local state and federal representative races. Mayor Sheasby declined to seek
reelection, so Democrat Joseph Doyle defeats Judge Leon McCarthy to become
Ansonia's mayor 4933-4766. Republicans control the Board of Aldermen 12-3. Voter
turnout is near 90%.

DERBY - The city backs President
Eisenhower over Stevenson 3136-2372. Breaking from the rest of the Valley, Derby
backs Dodd over Bush by a decisive 3099-2309. Democrats win most other races.
Incumbent Mayor Dirienzo defeats his Republican challenger Anthony DeLallo
3260-2266. Democrats and Republicans are now equally represented on the Board of
Aldermen 3-3. A $65,000 bond referendum to build a sewer in the Maple Shade area
and new field house at Coon Hollow Park passes 3211-1834.

OXFORD - The town backs President
Eisenhower over Stevenson 960-290, and Senator Bush over Dodd 862-348.
Republicans win most other races.

SEYMOUR - The town backs President
Eisenhower over Stevenson 3089-1576, and Senator Bush over Dodd 2675-1873.
Republicans win most other races. Turnout near 90%.

SHELTON - The City backs Eisenhower
over Stevenson 5475-2576, and Senator Bush over Dodd 4389-3165. Republicans wins
most other elections. This includes Frank Cicia, of the Little Elephant Club of
the Republican Party, who defeats Democratic incumbent Mayor Malachi LeMay
4366-3391. Republicans also take complete control of the Board of Aldermen.
Voter turnout near 90%. A bond referendum for new school additions and a new
city hall-police station and fire headquarters passes 1698-1139.

November 7

DERBY - Hundreds attend funeral of
Airman Basic Joseph Moccia at the Scarpa Funeral Home on 36 Fifth Street. Flags
are at half mast across the city. The wake took two days. He is buried with
military honors at Mt. St. Peters. Airman Moccia died from an accident at
Lackland Air Force Base on November 1.

November 10

ANSONIA & SHELTON - The Army Corps of
Engineers announces 16 housing units will be erected at both the Ansonia and
Shelton NIKE sites.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Ansonia beats
Sacred Heart 39-0 at Nolan Field. Shelton beats Branford 46-12 in away game,
winning Housatonic League Championship since they are undefeated. One Shelton
player, a sophomore, breaks his arm. Only Derby stands in Shelton's way for an
undefeated season. Derby defeats Amity 21-14 in an away game. Seymour, which has
had a less than stellar season, pulls a huge upset by tying undefeated Naugatuck
0-0 in an away game, breaking Naugy's winning streak.

November
11 - Veterans' Day

ANSONIA - Holy Rosary Church burns
its mortgage at solemn high mass attended by the auxiliary bishop of Hartford,
Rev. John Hackett. Later 640 attend a banquet at Actor's Colony Inn in Derby,
where a second copy of the $65,000 mortgage is burned.

ANSONIA - World War I, World War II,
and Korean War veterans and dignitaries gather at the Naval Gun at the Ansonia
Armory at 11:00 AM for Veterans' Day ceremonies. Rev. Ross Morrell of Christ
Church urges all to pray harder than ever for peace, saying we're on the brink
of World War III. It is understandable he and many others felt this way, as
world tensions were extremely high as the Soviets were crushing the
Hungarian Revolution,
and Britain, France and Israel were fighting Egypt in the
Suez Crisis.

SEYMOUR - The town observes 2 minutes
of silence at 11:00 AM for Veterans' Day, then breaks out in church bells and
factory whistles.

Monday, November 12, 1956

ANSONIA - The Board of Aldermen hold
their last meeting before the new Board is sworn in. This is the last meeting
for 10 Aldermen. 7 didn't seek reelection, and 3 Democrats were defeated in the
Eisenhower landslide on election day.

Retail sales in all five Valley towns
in the second quarter of 1956 reached $73,203,589. The breakdown was: Ansonia:
$31,732,625; Derby: $10,844,621; Oxford: $237,407; Seymour: $14,682,532; and
Shelton $15,706,354

DERBY - Harry A. Haugh Jr., inventor
of the electromatic traffic signal, dies in Camden, NJ at age 60. He was born on
the corner of Fifth Street and Minerva Street.
Read
his obituary and invention here.

OXFORD - State fire marshal condemns
Grange Hall for use by overflow students from Oxford School. The students must
be out in two days. The Board of Education says in this emergency situation,
both the Oxford Center and Quaker Farms firehouses can be used if necessary.
Beacon Falls has scheduled a town meeting, to consider giving Oxford permission
to use a recently closed schoolhouse.

SEYMOUR - 60 cases of
measles among town
kindergarteners causes the Health Officer to warn of a possible epidemic.

November 15

ANSONIA - Mayor Sheasby gives notice
he will veto a Board of Aldermen action to raise the number of regular police
officers from 19 to 25. He gives 5 reasons why in a letter.

SHELTON - Catastrophe narrowly
averted when a hose from a tanker truck carrying 5000 gallons of gasoline
catches fire from static electricity, while filling a gas station at 334 Howe
Avenue. The driver shuts off off valve, and speeds down the street with
dripping, flaming gasoline following him. The fire is put out with a fire
extinguisher, though had the fire caused an explosion it could have been
disastrous in this densely populated part of town.

November 16

ANSONIA - Two police officers assist
in the birth of a baby boy on South Cliff Street.

OXFORD - The State fire marshal
extends the deadline for all overflow students to be out of Grange Hall to
November 21.

November 17

ANSONIA - An 8-year old boy narrowly
escapes injury when an oil burner explodes in his first floor apartment in a
6-family tenement building on 49 Colburn Street. The fire is contained to the
one apartment, though a fireman is hurt by glass.

Random sample of Thanksgiving turkey
prices - 47-53 cents per pound at Klarides on 271 Bank Street in Seymour, and at
Vollaro's on Hill Street in Shelton. 45-49 cents per pound at the A&P
supermarkets in Ansonia and Derby as well as the Fulton supermarkets, which are
located in all 4 towns.

ANSONIA - The Board of Education
votes to send letters to the parents of 21 non residents attending Ansonia High
School who are not paying tuition. The letter will ask them to appear at the
December 3 meeting to explain themselves.

ANSONIA - The poor box at Holy
Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on Hubbell Avenue is broken into, and the contents
stolen.

OXFORD - The
Bailey Bridge on
Laughlin Road is removed, and construction starts on a permanent replacement the
following day. The Barry Road bridge is being repaired. The O'Neil Road bridge
will be rebuilt soon. All were damaged or destroyed in the August 1955 Flood.

SEYMOUR - The Police Chief warns
citizens to stop using the new Broad Street footbridge, as the temporary span is
not yet completed and is dangerous.

DERBY - The prize herds of 150
Holstein cattle at Osbornedale Farm, and 175 Jersey cattle at Bassett farm,
owned by the late Mrs. Francis Osborne Kellogg, are sold to Hilltop farm in
Suffield.

OXFORD - At a special town meeting,
the citizens of Beacon Falls reject a proposal to allow Oxford School students
to use their recently closed Center School. Overflow students from Oxford School
were being taught in Grange Hall, which the State Fire Marshall has ordered
vacated of students by November 21.

SHELTON - Boxcar loaded with lumber
is discovered on fire near Indian Well in the late evening. The fire goes to two
alarms, with firemen pouring water on the smoldering car for 4 hours. An Echo
Hose H&L pumper becomes stuck in the mud up to its bumper while drafting water
out of the Housatonic River and had to be towed out. Finally, after 2 AM the
following morning, the fire appears to be out, and the boxcar is towed to Derby
by switcher.

November 21

DERBY - As the Storm Engine Company
leaves Echo Hose H&L in Shelton, where they were standing by while that city
fought a boxcar fire at Indian Well, at 2:25 AM, the receive a call that the
same boxcar has been moved, and is now on fire near Commerce Street. The Storms
quickly extinguish the fire - they think. They are called back at 4:30 AM, and
spend another 35 minutes extinguishing it. At 5:30 AM, the boxcar is on fire
again. The Derby Fire Department spends for another 4 hours pouring water on it
as the lumber is unloaded, finally extinguishing the fire.

DERBY - The Fathers' Club presents
Derby High School with a new flag at a pre-Thanksgiving game pep rally.

OXFORD - State Fire Marshal gives
Oxford School permission to continue using Grange Hall to handle overflow on a
day by day basis, due to recent safety improvements made there. It is hoped that
2 classrooms in the new addition will be ready by early December.

November 22 - THANKSGIVING DAY

The day passes quietly, except on the
football fields...

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL - Naugatuck
upsets Ansonia, defeating them 27-0 before 8000 in Naugatuck. Ansonia finishes
its season with a 7-2 record. Shelton beats Derby 33-0 at Lafayette Field.
Shelton closes its season unbeaten and untied for only the second time.
The only other perfect season was in 1950.

November 23

SEYMOUR - First Selectman Harry
Mannweiler, assisted by Santa Claus, throws the switch turning on downtown
Seymour's Christmas lights for the first time this season.

SHELTON -
Col. Clarence
Chamberlin announces the Chamberlin Realty Company will build 300-400 new
homes. Some will be in White Hills on the new Bona Vista Drive - 3 model homes
are there already. Others will be on his farm in Huntington off Ripton Road.

SHELTON - Huntington Congregational
Church dedicates its Church House after Sunday services. The home is the old
Kemp house, an old colonial, on Church Street, and as of this point will house
nursery school, kindergarten, and Sunday School. Dr. James English,
superintendent of the Congregational Christian Churches of Connecticut is in
attendance.

Wednesday, November 28, 1956

DERBY - Mayor Dirienzo issues a
proclamation declaring December 2 a Protest Day against the Communist
suppression of Hungarian freedom.

SEYMOUR - The Seymour High School
Wildcats football team finished their season 6-1-1, one of best in Connecticut
this year, second best in school history. The best record was 7-1-0, set in
1953.

SHELTON - The State informs Shelton
it will replace the bridge over the Far Mill River at the Stratford line at
River Road next Spring.

November 29

ANSONIA - On his second to last day
in office, Mayor William Sheasby is awarded by State Civil Defense Director for
his outstanding efforts during the Floods of 1955.

SEYMOUR - 400 attend a special town
meeting. 8 of 9 resolutions, all relating to post-flood redevelopment projects,
are approved. The resolution to have the Seymour Housing Authority negotiate low
income housing with the Public Housing Administration was withdrawn.

November 30

ANSONIA - Mayor William Sheasby and
Mayor-elect Joseph Doyle are both in attendance when the Christmas lights are
turned on in downtown Ansonia for the first time. Doyle's six year old daughter
Patricia pulls the switch turning on the lights.

DERBY - Mayor Dirienzo's young
grandson Anthony Dirienzo III pulls the switch turning on the Christmas lights
in downtown Derby for the first time this season.

SHELTON - Mayor LeMay pulls the
switch turning on the Christmas lights in downtown Shelton, on Howe Avenue and
Center Street, for the first time this season.

December

Saturday, December 1, 1956

ANSONIA - Mayor Joseph A. Doyle is
sworn in to become Ansonia's 15th mayor, by Rep.
Thomas Dodd. The ceremony
is carried live on the local AM radio station WADS.

SEYMOUR - This is the first year that
the Seymour Chamber of Commerce has outright purchased the lights decorating
downtown Seymour. On weekends, Santa Claus can be visited in his trailer next to
Strand Theater, where children will receive a gift.

SHELTON - Mayor LeMay asks residents
to observe a moment of prayer at noon on December 3 for the oppressed people of
Hungary.

December 2

DERBY - At noon, the church bells
ring for 3 minutes. Many do as Mayor Dirienzo requested when he designated this
date as a Protest Day, and come onto the streets and stand at attention in
solidarity with those killed by the Soviets in the recent
Hungarian Revolution.

Monday, December 3, 1956

SEYMOUR - 43 prefab houses that were
used to shelter people made homeless by the 1955 flood will be sold. 15 of them
are now vacant.

December 5

The Evening Sentinel publishes
an editorial entitled "Our Heightened Flood Peril", where it argues that the
Valley towns are still short of minimal flood protection.

SHELTON - An explosion resonated
throughout downtown at 3:45 PM, but the source cannot be traced. It is concluded
it was probably a supersonic jet passing overhead.

SHELTON - The Shelton Baptist Church
trustees vote to sell it's Howe Avenue church and parsonage, and relocate both
to White Hills. The favorable reception of the 5 summer services at the old
White Hills Baptist Church on School Street helped make the decision.

December 6

ANSONIA - The Division Street Bridge
construction is proceeding at a good pace, after experiencing a delay due to the
steel not arriving on time. This replaces the older span destroyed in the August
1955 flood.

DERBY - The City has different
Christmas lights than usual this year, and they are attracting favorable
comment. They feature multi-colored lights, as well as circles of lights, bells,
and candy canes on light poles.

SEYMOUR - The new temporary
footbridge over the Naugatuck River at Broad Street is now open to traffic.
Lights have been installed at either end. Preliminary plans for a vehicular
bridge to replace the Broad Street Bridge demolished shortly after the 1955
floods are being readied.

ANSONIA - There is a problem with
wells on Granite Terrace and North Prospect Street Extension becoming
contaminated with chromium. This has attracted the attention of the State, as
chromium contamination is very rare.

DERBY - The 60 public housing tenants
at Lakeview Terrace, along with the 40 at McLaughlin Terrace, have been notified
that they will get a $6 per month rate increase in January.

DERBY & SHELTON - The Derby-Shelton
Memorial Day Parade Committee is in crisis due to declining interest and
donations for the annual parade. Last May both towns donated $800, but the
actual parade cost $2,100. This is the third year in a row the Committee has
finished the year in a deficit, and manufacturers are not donating as they used
to. The committee will reportedly be meeting soon to consider disbanding.

SHELTON - An apparent arson fire
completely destroys the Hilltop Lunchroom on Old Bridgeport Avenue at 3 AM. The
building was about to reopen after a November 19 fire, it had been repainted and
a new linoleum floor was just installed. The building was one story, about
20'x30', and set back 100 feet from Route 8 (Bridgeport Avenue). One of the
heaviest fogs in years obscured the fire for awhile, and made it difficult to
locate.

Monday, December 10, 1956

DERBY - Certificate of Incorporation
filed for the Valley Shopping Center, Inc., by Charles Santangelo and Edward and
Hortense Levy. The shopping center will be on the
Mill Street Connector, today's Pershing Drive.
Fifty years later, the shopping center will be anchored by Shop Rite.

SHELTON - The Board of Aldermen
accepts plans for new firehouse on Bridge Street, and a combination City
Hall/Police Station on Hill Street (neither of which will ever be built in the
manner planned on this date). Also a 16-room addition to Shelton High School,
and an 8-room addition to
Huntington School. The Board also votes to change the name of
Riverview Park to Riverview Memorial Park.

December 11

ANSONIA - Mayor Doyle tells the US
Army Corps of Engineers Gen. Fleming, at a hearing in Waterbury, that a new
flood survey is needed for Ansonia. The survey needs to study the effects of
encroachments on the flood plain and Naugatuck River since the 1955 floods. They
Mayor states the city, as well as Derby and Seymour, still lack adequate flood
protection.

DERBY & SHELTON - The Derby-Shelton
Memorial Day Association meets at Veteran's Memorial at Shelton's Riverview
Park. They decide that, despite the setbacks of the last few years, they want to
continue the joint observances and parade, and set January 8 as a reorganization
date.

December 12

DERBY - The Griffin Hospital trustees
have agreed to allow the Russ Memorial Nurses' Home to be used for a district
public health department that will serve all 5 Valley communities

OXFORD - Reconstruction of 1955 flood
damaged bridges continues. The O'Neil Road bridge is currently closed as it is
being replaced. The Punkup Road bridge closed while it is being worked on.
Repairs to the Laughlin Road bridge are almost completed.

SHELTON - The Huntington Fire Company
has decorated their firehouse for the holidays for the first time since
organized in 1918. Santa and his reindeer are on the roof, and colored lights
are in the windows.

December 13

DERBY - Police Department matters
take up much of the Board of Aldermen meeting. Every regular officer and
patrolman gets a $500 raise to their salary. The Board is also asked to consider
adding rank of sergeant, and to allow the East Side patrol car to remain on duty
24 hours a day instead of the current 16.

December 14

A rain and sleet storm dumps .97" of
precipitation and raises havoc upstate, but causes few problems locally. The
exception is Oxford, which loses power in much of the town.

ANSONIA - A 22 year old Shelton man
working on the new American Brass Company powerhouse is seriously injured when
he came in contact with a 13,800 volt wire.

Monday, December 17, 1956

SEYMOUR - The Post Office processes
47,400 pieces of mail, making it the busiest day in the Seymour branch's history
up to that time.

SEYMOUR - Residents of Derby Avenue
and Pine Street hold an organizational meeting to form a civic association, and
vote to ask Cedar Street residents to join them too. The new organization is
called the Derby Avenue Civic Association.

SHELTON - A 13 year old boy who took
part in the street fighting in Budapest against the Soviets during the recent
Hungarian
Revolution has found refuge with his aunt and uncle on 113 Center Street.

December 18

DERBY - For the first time in its 55
year history, Griffin Hospital received full accreditation by the Joint
Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals. Ten days later, however, the claim is
disputed by a doctor who has been affiliated with the hospital for a long time,
saying in fact the hospital has been fully accredited since 1931, and to claim
otherwise is a disservice to the dedicated hospital staff.

DERBY - At a State hearing on
relocating Route 8 conducted in Ansonia City Hall, Mayor Dirienzo says he is
opposed to the highway cutting through West Spring Street and Mountain Street,
saying it unfairly isolates them and impedes emergency vehicles. He vows he will
take the State to court if they do not change their plans.

SEYMOUR - The Derby Avenue Civic
Association members attend the Route 8 Public Hearing in Ansonia, where they ask
the State when they will tear down the condemned, vacant, flood-damaged houses
bought in the Derby Avenue area for the new Route 8 expressway. The Association
says rats "as big as cats" live in the the houses, and create a public health
risk.

December 19

ANSONIA - The Sentinel runs a
picture of Charters Hose Company #4, which is covered with Christmas lights.

DERBY - The Derby Coal and Oil
Company publishes a full page ad in the Evening Sentinel, stating they
are now the first in the Valley to have a two-way radio dispatch system in all
of their trucks.

December 20

ANSONIA - The State announces plans
for new Maple Street Bridge are "well advanced", and any additional changes
Ansonia wishes to make will have to be paid for by the City.

SEYMOUR - The W. L. Ward Funeral Home
is reopening in a modern building on 260 Bank Street. The old funeral home on 15
Pine Street destroyed by the August 1955 flood.

December 21

ANSONIA - 15,556 cars pass through
the intersection of Main and Bridge Streets between 1 PM and 9 PM.

December 22

ANSONIA - 24,450 cars pass through
the intersection of Main and Bridge Streets between 9 AM and 7 PM.

ANSONIA - Mrs. Ella H. Emerson
announces a $2,500 gift to the Ansonia Public Library, to allow it to microfilm
its collection of the Evening Sentinel from August 18, 1896, to the
present day. She is the widow of Howard F. Emerson, who was a second generation
owner and publisher of the Sentinel. Mrs. Emerson herself was part owner,
and the publisher of the newspaper in 1956, which then enjoyed a circulation of
14,000. The importance of her gift cannot be overstated. Many Valley libraries,
as well as the State Library, have microfilmed copies of the Evening Sentinel
dating back to August 18, 1896, which subsequently immortalized the area's
history until the paper closed in 1994. Most of the information that goes into
this website's This Week in History comes from the microfilmed
Sentinel editions at the Ansonia and Derby Public Libraries.

Monday, December 24, 1956

Morning rain has little effect on
last minute Christmas shoppers. All downtown streets and parking lots are
jammed.

ANSONIA - 28,915 cars pass through
the intersection of Main Street and Bridge Street in a 9 hour period. It is
believed that Christmas receipts have set a new record in downtown Ansonia.

DERBY - Oliver W. Lewis, proprietor
of Lewis Funeral Home on 148 Elizabeth Street, dies. His father, Cyrus, entered
the employ of George Bedient, a furniture salesman who also served as Derby's
undertaker, in July 1889. Back then wakes were held in houses. When Mr. Bedient
died, Cyrus Lewis continued the undertaking business from 272 Main Street. In
1910, he moved the buisness to the former Boyd home on 148 Elizabeth Street, on
the corner of Fifth Street, opening the Valley's first true funeral home. He
took his son, Oliver W. Lewis, as a partner in 1912. Cyrus Lewis died in 1948,
and Oliver W. continued to run it as Derby's main funeral parlor until his death
on this date.

December 25 - CHRISTMAS DAY

The Salvation Army hands out 150
Christmas dinners to needy families. It is noted that more houses are
decorated with Christmas lights and crèches this year. Throngs attend midnight
mass and Christmas day mass.

ANSONIA - Vandals break into a hanger
at Ansonia Airport and do $1000 damage to an airplane. Vandals also rip the
receivers from of 9 out of 10 telephone booths on Main Street, and cut
some wires. The Southern New England Telephone Company is so upset by the damage
and overtime, it threatens to pull all phone booths out of Ansonia. Later in the
day, three youths, 2 from Ansonia and 1 from Oxford, are arrested by Ansonia
Police for vandalizing the telephones.

DERBY - Only one Christmas baby is
born in Griffin Hospital, to a family that resides on Judson Street in Shelton.

December 27

ANSONIA - The Board of Education
votes to ask Planning & Zoning to secure an option to erect a new grade school
at the corner of Ford Street and Finney Street in the Hilltop area.

December 28

ANSONIA - John G. Predergast dies in
Griffin Hospital in Derby at 68. He was Ansonia High School's principal from
1931 to 1948, and also represented Ansonia in the State Legislature.

December 29

SHELTON - A truck owned by Derby's
East Side Oil Company overturns on Shelton Avenue, on the hill leading into
Huntington, in a snowstorm. The truck's two occupants escape injury, and no oil
is spilled.

Monday, December 31, 1956

ANSONIA (& DERBY) - Arthur Clifford
DeForest dies at 74. At the time of his death he lived at 21 Hill Street
Ansonia, but for most of his life he resided at 7 Prospect Street, Derby. He was
an amateur weatherman forecaster, and for over 50 years, he reported his
predictions in the Evening Sentinel under the pseudonym "East Side Weather
Prophet". His identity was a secret until 1947. Many set their schedules around
his predictions.

DERBY - 191 permits for single family
homes were given in Derby in 1956.